I finished reading The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins a few days ago, and I've spent a lot of time deciding how I wanted to review them. I finally decided that I don't really need to review them here. Some one else, on some other blog, or maybe several other people have probably already said what I am going to say about them. My words are not going to entice some new reader to explore this series. With the amount of hype surrounding them, and the insane amounts of attention they've received, if you haven't already read them, I'm sure you have your own reasons for that, and what I have to say is unlikely to change your mind. However, I will probably write a review of them individually on Goodreads (and I will link them here once I have) for anyone who really wants to see what I think about them, and I am always available for discussion if someone is interested in talking about it with me.
So, what I've decided I will tell you briefly what I thought about them/my emotions reading each book. Then, I'm going to get to the point. I really want to talk about something I've noticed that seems to happen to widely read series of books.
I am going to say right out that I loved these books. All three of them. I read all three of them almost back to back ( I took a 3 hour break between Catching Fire and Mockingjay so that I could eat something and give my system a chance to level off because the adrenaline was too much and I was just about shaking.) I haven't been that involved in a book in a long time — where my whole body, my whole system becomes involved and invested in the story. I've gotta say, it's pretty intense! The first two were like one constant adrenaline high. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next, I was on the edge of my seat, dying to know what was going to happen. Mockingjay was different. It was much more subtle. I can definitely see where people were disappointed in the book, although I actually think it was a brilliant ending, and although I was a little bummed by the way a few things turned out, I also thought that it was almost exactly what would have happened if any of this were real.
Reading these books, and watching what happened among the fan base at the end has brought me to a decision about hugely popular, widely read series. Especially the final book of the series. And that is, if the words "highly anticipated conclusion", "the ending you've all been waiting for" or any variant on that theme are associated with your book, there are going to be people who LOVE it and there are going to be people who HATE it. If you are lucky, there will be a few people in between, but that's rather unlikely. As an author, and as a reader of the aforementioned series, you are just going to have to accept that. You might be one of those who hate the ending, or you might be on the other side, completely flabbergasted that there are people out here who didn't love the ending. Either way, you should probably just expect that.
We saw it a little bit with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A lot of people loved the book. But, there were also a lot of fans who were really disappointed with it, especially the epilogue. There was too much information, or not enough, Harry talked too much, it was too easy, 'You killed who?!' etc. Not everyone was happy with the way it ended. We saw it in the extreme with Breaking Dawn. I've never come across so many readers who took a book so personally in my life. I cannot believe the number of people who acted as if Stephenie Meyer killed their dog (or cat, for those who prefer them). I've read some books that I didn't much care for in my time, but I've never once thought to make the attack personal on the author. But, more people that I care to remember personally attacked Meyer for writing such a bad book. Now, personal feelings on the book completely aside, that's uncalled for people. Really, it's just a book.
Anyway, we've seen it with other huge series, and now we see it with Mockingjay and the end to The Hunger Games. I'm sad that so many people seemed so disappointed in Mockingjay, but I can't really say that I'm all that surprised.
I'll be posting my actual review of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson soon, but I wanted to share a few of the links from fellow bloggers who are shouting out about this Wesley Scroggins mess. I posted some of my thoughts, but I still fume about it every time I think about it. There's so much to be said on this topic, and most of it has been said at one point or another by different bloggers and authors from all over.
So, here is a list compiled by Natalie at Mindful Musings. I can only imagine how much time and effort went into contacting everyone and gathering all this information, and I thank her for it, because it makes it so much easier to find.
Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education " by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.
Below is a list of links of bloggers speaking out against book banning and censorship--in the form of giveaways, posts, and reviews. Some are "officially" participating in what we're calling Bloggers Speak Out, and others are posts that we've found around the blogosphere. If you get time, you should definitely check them out! Giveaways of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson **All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted** Papercut Reviews Braintasia Books Escape through the Pages Tina's Book Reviews Sea of Pages Mrs. Deraps Reads Moonlight Book Reviews Cari's Book Blog Just Your Typical Book Blog For What It's Worth Wondrous Reads (Ends 9/27) Frankie Writes (Ends?) The Elliot Review (Ends?) The Bookologist (Ends?) La Femme Readers
Other Giveaways **All giveaways will end on 10/3, unless otherwise noted** -Lisa Schroeder: ARC of The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Ends 9/23) -Will Write for Cake: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five -Mindful Musings (here): Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five -Teens Read and Write: Win The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -Mundie Moms: Win Speak, Burned, Twenty Boy Summer, or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Ends 9/26) -Wicked Awesome Books: Win a "Filthy Books" Prize Pack -Carol's Prints: Win Speak and The Mockingbirds -Myra McEntire: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Harry Potter -The Bookish Type: Win Speak or Twenty Boy Summer -Bea's Book Nook: Win Speak & an ALA Challenged Book (Ends 10/2) -Sarah Ockler: Win a Wesley Scroggins Filthy Books Prize Pack (Ends 10/1)
Other Posts Against Book Banning and Censorship Braintasia Books Escape Through the Pages As Told by Jen Aine's Realm The Compulsive Reader Once Upon a Bookcase Daily Dose Speak Loudly Book Drop @ Late Bloomer Online A Life Bound by Books Red House Books Frankie Writes Michelle's Bookshelf I Should Be Writing The Undercover Book Lover Punk Writer Kid Lisa and Laura Write Between the Covers Another Book Junkie Jenni Elyse Eve's Fan Garden The Ultimate Dumpees Reading the Best of the Best The Pirate's Bounty Reclusive Bibliophile Book Faery Bloggers Heart Books Book Swarm Fantasy 4 Eva The Ladybug Reads The Lady Critic's Library Emilie's Book World Jacob's Beloved Just Your Typical Book Blog Maggie's Bookshelf Basically Amazing Books Novel Thoughts Random Ramblings Holes in my Brain Readligion Vision Quest Fail Shelby Barwood Supernatural Snark Consumed by Books Ann Marie Gamble The Darker Side of the Fire Katie's Book Blog Sassymonkey (BlogHer) GreenBeanTeenQueen Jessica Lei Maria Romana Abby Minard The Mimosa Stimulus Books and Things Beyond the Trestle
Authors Speak Out Laurie Halse Anderson: This guy thinks Speak is pornographic Laurie Halse Anderson: The power of speaking loudly Author Gayle Forman @ Eve's Fan Garden Author Saundra Mitchell @ Eve's Fan Garden Karen Rivers Sarah Ockler: I Speak Loudly for Speak Sarah Ockler: On Book Banning Zealots and Ostriches Author Laura Manivong @ Page Turners Cheryl Rainfield: Fight Against Ignorance Myra McEntire: Speak Loudly: In Defense of Laurie Halse Anderson Andrea Cremer: Speak Out Natalie Standiford on Censorship @ Emily's Reading Room
Important Articles on the Subject "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" (the article that started it all) Scroggins' Official Complaint to the School Board (PDF) "Republic School Book Choices under Fire " (Springfield News-Leader) Laurie Halse Anderson's Editiorial in the Springfield News-Leader Sarah Ockler's Editorial in the Springfield News-Leader Natalie @ Mindful Musings' Letter to the Editor in the Springfield News-Leader Essay: Kurt Vonnegut's Thoughts on the First Amendment Thanks to everyone who has spoken out about this. It's not something that will be going away soon, but it's something that we can fight a little better every day. We can make progress. We can make a difference. Speak out, and don't ever let anyone else do your thinking for you.
Today's interview is with Zoë Marriott, author of The Swan Kingdom (read Ashley's review) , Daughter of the Flames (which Ashley also loved) and the upcoming Shadows on the Moon (which both Misty and Ashley are eagerly awaiting). Zoë has known that she wanted to be a writer since she was finished reading her first book; The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. She thinks she was about eight, but she decided on being a writer and hasn't changed her mind since then. And boy, are we glad that she didn't! Help us welcome Zoë to the blog today!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Swan Kingdom is my favorite retelling of The Six Swans/The Wild Swans that I have come across. You talk about what inspired you to write this one down in your guest post. I loved what you did with the story to make it your own, but your interpretation of the ending to this story is largely responsible for how much I love this book. Without spoiling anything, can you talk about that? Can you share where or how that idea came to you?
So hard not to spoil!! Argh! Okay... well... basically, in the original version of the story, I didn't think the heroine really got a very happy ending. Or enough credit! She's clearly an extraordinarily brave and strong young woman, loyal the her brothers to the end despite all the suffering she's gone through — but she gets stuck with this prince who pretty much *kidnapped* her, and then was going to burn her because he thought she was a witch? That's true love for you, right? And she never gets justice for the wrong done to her family by her stepmother, or any closure, or even to see the land of her birth again! I suppose a few hundred years ago women weren't supposed to care about thing like that, but I was sure that for someone like her, the fate of the people she had left behind much have weighed on her mind very heavily. And then, it also made sense to me that in order to reverse such a powerful curse on her brothers through almost nothing but willpower and knitting, she must have had some fairly strong magical power of her own! So I wanted to try and bring those elements into the resolution of the story and bring everything full circle.
Did you have the changes you brought to the story in mind before you started writing, or were these things that came to you after?
Wow, that's a good question! I think some of them were always there, because they grew from the questions I had about the story — the questions that made me want to retell it. I mean, for example: just who was the mother of these royal children? In fairytales the real mother nearly always gets erased in the first line and replaced by a wicked plot-point. But it seemed to me that, particularly in The Wild Swans, where the father is pretty much a non-entity and yet the children are remarkable, that the mysterious, dead mother must have been remarkable too. So I always new that in my version the mother and particularly her death would be significant and happen 'on-screen' as it were. In other cases, the changes to the story were due to things that happened to be marinading in my brain at the time. When I was working on the first draft of the story I was watching a BBC documentary series about British pre-history in which there was a lot of information about the hunter-gatherers who built all our long barrows and stone circles. The experts talked about ancestor worship, and about the way that cave art seemed to show animal and human spirts all together, as part of nature. But then as people started to farm and develop agriculture and a more sedentary life, the idea of ownership and kingdoms appeared, and there was a massive shift in the way people lived. Did the hunter-gatherers disappear? Or were they absorbed into the farmer population? So those ideas worked their way into the book, and gave me an interesting and, I think, unique magical system and backstory for the Kingdom. Is there a fairy tale that you just need to retell, but are waiting to retell, or holding off for now? What are some of the other fairy tales you've considered retelling? Are there any fairy tales that you absolutely do not want to retell? Sooo many! I've always wanted to retell Beauty and the Beast, but I'm horribly intimidated by Robin McKinley's legacy. I mean, how is anyone supposed to live up to THAT? And there are a lot of less famous stories, for example, from Japanese mythology, that I have ideas about. The one I've never really been interested in is Sleeping Beauty — there's so little for the princess to do, and the idea of falling conveniently in love with your saviour bugs me. But I'd never say never. I always hated Cinderella too, until she started whacking me on the back of the head with a pick-axe demanding I tell her story properly! You've also written a non-fairy tale story, Daughter of the Flames. How does the writing and the research differ between the two genres? Which do you prefer writing? Do you prefer creating a completely new story and creating the world to fit the story, or taking an existing story at making it your own?
This isn't a very interesting answer, but I can't really put my finger on any significant differences in the process between writing an original fantasy and a fairytale relling. Possibly because I don't stick very closely to the specific events of my fairytale frameworks (as you may have noticed!) which means I still need to come up with my own plot, my own characters, my own emotional conflicts and arcs. Probably more importantly, I don't really think that writing a fairytale retelling is a get-out-of-jail card when it comes to setting. It's easy to slip into that non-specific, Eurocentric, Tolkien-esque world we all know so well. But that is a thin, bland sort place where I don't have much fun as a writer. Creating the world of Shadows on the Moon, for instance, required as much (actually, far more!) thought and research than the world of Daughter of the Flames. Your most recent book, Shadows on the Moon comes out this July, and I'm crazy excited for it. It's a Cinderella story, but she is most assuredly not your typical Cinderella. You mention why you wrote her this way in your guest post, and I am dying to read about it. There are many fairy tales with rather weak heroines. Are there any other stories that you would like to retell to give the heroines a chance to be strong? Actually, I think the female characters in fairytales tend to get a bit of a bad rep, overall. In a lot of original folk stories, young woman are cunning, resourceful, brave and loyal. Often men are the weak ones who need to be rescued. Look at Janet in Tam Lin, Kai and Gerda in the Snow Queen, the heroine of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, all those clever young witches and woodcutter's daughters! And the powerful, fearsome baddies are often women too. The problem, I think, is that the Victorians didn't approve of all these bold, adventuring women, and they cut their parts down and sometimes out entirely, in order to make fairytales 'fit' for their children. Not many years later, Disney carried on this process by producing a great many films in which being sweet, obedient and passive (and supernaturally attractive to forest animals) were the heroine's only traits. Later films, like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, did allow the heroines to have SOME personality — but their number one desire was nearly always to escape from their fathers so they could find true love, and their princes were the ones with the claws/swords. It's really only very lately that we're seeing books and films that give women back their original, strong roles (Tangled, for example!) and I'm very happy to be a part of that process. Silly/Random Questions: ~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale?
Pencils, probably. I always have one on me somewhere! Princess Pen... now, why does that sound familiar?:) ~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale: "Princess Pen cracked open her stepmother's ribcage and cut out the woman's horribly blackened, twisted, yet still-beating heart; she then replaced it with an artificial one which she had grown within a local farmer's pig, and closed up the incision." [Misty likes Princess Pen already... ] ~Best fairy tale villain and why? The wicked fairy from Sleeping Beauty's christening. She's really the only interesting character in the thing! ~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites? Childhood favourite was definitely The Wild Swans, and I have to be boring and say it STILL is. Least favourite used to be Cinderella — now Sleeping Beauty. ~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be? I wouldn't. Are you crazy? Those stories are full of utter loonies, and even Princess Pen isn't mightier than the sword. ~Would you rather:- — eat magic beans or golden eggs? Golden eggs. With a little smoked salmon, on toast points. Maybe they would finally allow me to get a tan. - — style 50ft long hair or polish 100 pairs of glass slippers?My hair is actually waist-length right now, and I'm about to have it cut off from sheer annoyance, so I'd have to go with the slippers! - — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming? Fairy godmother — and once you've read Shadows on the Moon, you will know why! [Ashley says — SO mean to tease us this way when you already know how badly I want to read it! :) ]Fill-in-the-Gaps, story 1: Three Wishes The strange little man had offered Princess Pen three wishes. But what to wish for? The obvious answer was world peace , but that would never do, for obvious reasons. Princess Pen wasn't naive enough to think that people would ever stop fighting for long. And unlimited money for stem cell research was out of the question, since Princess Pen's wicked stepmother had outlawed it.
The Princess squandered the first two wishes on aiding earthquakes sufferers and cooling down some nuclear reactors, and really needed to make the 3rd one count. There was only one thing to do: he/she would ask her genetically enhanced pig, Francis.
So early in the morning, the Princess set off for her lab where the porcine Francine lived. It was no easy task getting there; Princess Pen went through three security searches and a full body CT scan, and nearly lost hope of ever reaching Francisand making her final wish before she had to go off and do her rounds at Mount Eraser Hospital. Her stepmother's security measures were really getting out of hand.
But in all good time, Princess Pen reached the door of the one person who could help. With great trepidation, (for Francis could be somewhat cranky in the mornings if he hadn't had his coffee) Penknocked and waited. Finallly, Francisopened the door with one handsomely trimmed trotter and peered out. “Yes?” he said.
Penlaunched into the story of the little old man and his three wishes, but Francismerely held up a hand and said “It’s simple, really. I’m surprised you wasted your time coming all the way out here — you must wish for your wicked stepmother to agree to heart surgery so you can change her blackened, wizened heart for one which is generous and free of bigotry and unreasoning fear.”
Penwas baffled. Wish for something so simple? Not magic League-Boots to travel the world, or a wheel to spin flax into gold so that she could set up an inoculation project in the slums?However, it wasn't long before Pen realized that if her government was run by someone who actually had a working heart all the other things might one day be possible. So the Princessdid the only thing she could, and wished for her stepmother to finally heed her pleas to accept a new heart.
Whether it was the right choice, the world will never know, but for Princess Pen it meant freedom from a great deal of unnecessary red tape in the long run, and the increased well being of everyone within the kingdom. And with all of the wishes gone, Pen lived busilyever after. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Thanks for stopping by Zoë!! We're so glad to have you! Hope you guys liked the guest post. If you want to fill in one of the stories for yourself, see this post. And make sure to head over to our awesome guest post from Zoë, and enter to win our prize pack of Zoë's books!
I cannot possibly talk about books that have impacted me or bring about strong memories without talking about The Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin. There are over a hundred books in the regular series, along with The Babysitter's Club Mysteries, Little Sister, Super Specials, and Special Character Additions. It all started with Kristy's Great Idea. Why not give parents one place where they can find several babysitters all at once?! And voila! That BSC was born. The original characters were Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey. Over time, other characters came and went, including Dawn, Abby, Mallory, Jessi, and Mary Anne's boyfriend, Logan.
Claudia was always my favorite character, probably because she ate junk food all the time and she loved to read. Although, I must say I find it interesting that she read Nancy Drew nonstop, and I didn't pick up a Nancy Drew book until long after my obsession with all things Babysitter's Club ended. I feel like I should have been just in love with Nancy Drew as Claudia. But, I digress.
When I was 9 and 10, we lived just around the corner from the public library, and my mom decided that, because I didn't have to cross any streets, (and because I begged and begged and begged) she would allow me to walk to the library on my own, as long as I promised not to go anywhere else, and to come straight home after getting my books. This is probably one of the few times I didn't try to push my limits, and just accepted the rules my mom gave me. Going to the library was important enough to me that I didn't even try to disobey or take advantage of the privilege. And, being the awesome mom that she is, and understanding just how much I loved needed to read, she also told me that I was allowed to check out as many books as I could carry home, as long as I consistently returned them without losing any, or aquiring late fees. And let me tell you, I definitely took advantage of that!
One of my first experiences on a computer was using my libraries online catalog to find more BSC books to place on hold. When I was 9, I memorized my 17 digit library card number because I entered the information into the computer system so many times. And once, when I forgot my card, I asked the librarian is I could just tell her my card number. I don't think she believed me, until I spouted it off. And she was quite impressed. All the librarians also recognized me by name, face, and choice of books. They'd see me approach the desk, and pull down my stack of 7-12 BSC books before I even got to the front. Pretty impressive for a 9 year old, I'd say.
Given that I was completely obsessed with the babysitter's club. I wanted to start my own club, and even made plans with my best friend to start one when we turned 12, because that's how old my mom said I had to be before I could start babysitting other people's kids. I also used to purchase anything Babysitters Club related in those Scholastic book orders that came through the school. My mom told me once that there would come a day when I wasn't going to want to read these books anymore, and asked if I'd like to save my money. I'm pretty sure I thought she was blasphemous. I almost cried the day I realized she was right. There came a few times over the years when I almost sold the books, or gave them away, but for one reason or another, I always ended up holding onto them, and now I'm incredibly grateful that I did. I'd also like to fill in some of the gaps on my shelf, especially of the earlier books.
I love that the books I've held onto have stories for me, and you can obviously tell which ones were my favorites. For years, even after I no longer loved the books in the same way, they were my go to books (along with Where the Red Fern Grows) anytime I didn't know what to read next. All of them are a little roughed up, but there are some that have very definite wear and tear to them because I read them to pieces. Each of those stories has such powerful memory triggers for me. Like in Stacey's Emergency. Stacey is diabetic, and in one book she ignores the rules, and ends up getting really sick. I think she ends up in the hospital over it. My favorite aunt growing up (we share the same birthday, so she was my favorite.:) ) is also diabetic and I spent weeks after reading that book terrified that something would go wrong.
All of these characters were so alive for me. I sincerely loved them, and always wanted for things to work out for these girls. I can't wait to hear what you all remember about this great group of girls (with one guy). Please, comment away!!
If you would be interested in guest blogging with a Memory Monday idea of your own, please in my blog for more information and fill out the form. I'd love to have you!
This review isn't about a book I read recently. It's about a book I read back in 2009, that I didn't really like all that much. I reviewed it on Goodreads and I came across it again as I was browsing through my book lists. It made me laugh so hard I decided to post it on the blog for all of you to read, and probably laugh at too. (posted exactly as taken from GR)
The Last Grail Keeper by Pamela Smith Hill
I am deciding between 2 and 3 stars right now, wishing, once again that GR offered a half star system. This book was definitely not a favorite. I felt that the writing style was weak, and juvenille. It was written in first person from the perspective of a young girl. I feel that because of this, the author felt the need to make every other thought Super exciting! And Wow! and Can you believe it! and Oh goodness! There were at least three exclamation points on half a page. Wow!
I also felt that the story itself was weak. In a fantasy story, there needs to be a suspension of disbelief for the story to function properly that just wasn't there for me. Always with the swirling purple dragon shapes, and the time sparkles. Magic and visions stop being interesting after the 8th time in 15 pages they are refered to. (I didn't count, but it mentioned them constantly). Then, the bad guys. I'm sorry, but what evil, hard core, time-changing, future destroying, MAGICAL bad guy is going to let the little girl he is trying to destroy pick his pocket to retrieve her magical necklace because he is too distracted on the telephone?! I mean, really. Come on!
There were too many things in this story that I found hard to believe, and the character development was weak throughout the whole story. The only explaination for the evil witch fairy Morgan Le Fay (that anyone who has ever heard any Aurthurian Legends KNOWS is EVIL) for really being one of the best good guys is that — all the women of Camelot wear two faces. That's it. I thought the story could have had potential, but was very disappointed in just about every aspect of the story.
No story line was fully developed, all of the characters were depressingly one-dimensional, and there was nothing in the story that convinced me I should beleive what was happening. It felt contrived and slapped together, and I was very disappointed. I haven't been this bored reading a book in a long time.
Writing this review, I just talked myself out of another star. I still think 2.5 would be the best rating, but right now feel that 2 comes closer to what I feel than 3.
Hey everyone and thanks for visiting! I'm once again participating in this lovely Friday hop/follow gig hosted by both Crazy for Books and Parajunkee's View. I'd love to hear from you, so please, if you are visiting from either site, please leave me a comment so I know you stopped by, and a link to your site so that I can return the favor!
I'd also love for you to enter my giveaways. They are listed at the very top of the sidebar on the right, and you don't need to do anything special to enter, just leave me a comment!
I'm also semi-participating in the From Dusk until Dawn Read-A-Thon hosted by Book Crazy. It's come at the most perfect time and the absolute worst time for me. I've been experiencing some insomnia lately, which isn't totally uncommon, because I am most definitely a night person, but it's been a little worse than normal. So, I have plenty of awake time at night to read. However, that's bad, because I really should be doing things to combat the insomnia, not encourage it. But who doesn't love an excuse to read, right?! So, I'm trying to accomplish a little bit, while (hopefully) not going overboard).
Now, to answer Jen's question, Yes. I do use a rating system for my books, although I only post it as a tag. I rarely mention it in my actual post/review about the book. I use this because this blog was meant for a way to communicate how much I love books to other people, the way I talk with them to my friends. (One only has so many friends, and eventually they get tired of only hearing about books. Sigh...) Anyway, when I talk to family or friends about a book I just read, those ratings are pretty close to how I talk to people in real life. I have actually said, 'meh' when someone asked me what I thought about a book. And, I've definitely used 'basically amazing' before!:) You can see a list of the ratings that I use in my right sidebar.
I can't wait to find me some new blogs!:) Thanks again for stopping by!
Hello everyone, and welcome to Memory Monday, guest blogger edition! I'd love to welcome Emily, or Ems, someone I've known for a very long time. She's prepared a lovely post to share with all of you about her childhood reading experiences, so stop, stay a while, and let us know what you think!
Info:
Ems: 30-something book reviewer, book lover, library haunter, old bookshop fiend, and general bibliophile. Currently a graduate student in Education at Idaho State University, with plans to become the greatest advocate of books the public school system has ever seen. Working on a novel herself, which may or may not see the light of day. It doesn’t really matter, since writing is almost as cathartic as reading for her. Ems blogs about books and life, at In which Ems reviews books and Some days I'm just plain philosophical, respectively.Post: I fell in love with reading at a very young age, thanks to my mom. One of my earliest memories is of her reading to me from a Babar book. Oh, how I loved Babar! I’d have done anything for that elephant, not to mention all his friends. It was the book I’d request over and over. Knowing what I know now about how kids get attached to books, I’d kind of like to give my mom some kind of award for reading it to me so many times.
Not only did Mom read Babar, but she read everything. We were forever reading. I feel very lucky to be the oldest child, because I had her undivided attention for almost 2 ½ years! My other siblings aren’t nearly the readaholic that I am. They didn’t get as much solo Mom-time as I did. To be fair, I was probably hanging around begging for books during their solo Mom-time.
Mom and I read just about everything under the sun. She introduced me to Barbapapa, Amelia Bedelia, The Little Golden Books, Charlotte and Wilbur, a mouse named Ralph, Sylvester the donkey, and the list goes on and on. The characters lived for me back then, and they still do. I can’t read a childhood favorite without getting a little bit choked up.
I love that she never felt obligated to stick to ‘age appropriate’ books with me. She just read. When we’d go to the library, I’d get to pick some and she’d pick some for me. She made sure that I had exposure to a wide variety of authors and illustrators. I know that it’s because of her that I’m such a bibliophile.
Because of my mom, I learned to read early too. She kept a list of books that I’d read by the time I was four years old, and it’s hundreds of books long. I really wish I could find that list now. It’s around here somewhere, but eludes me. The list isn’t just picture books either. I read my first chapter book (Babar, of course) when I was three. Nothing could stop me. By the time kindergarten rolled around (I was four years old for kindergarten), I was already reading on a fourth grade level and had read every book we owned multiple times. I got my own library card at five.
I learned that if there’s one thing I’m going to replicate with my own kids, it’s reading aloud to them and showing them that Mom loves to read too. (My mom doesn’t really read that much herself, ironically. I don’t know why she decided it was so important to read to me, though I’m forever grateful for that.) I’ve got to model reading for pleasure to them so they see that it’s a pretty okay pastime to have. As a future teacher, it’s something I’ll pass on to my students as well. Hey kids, it’s okay to love reading! It’s okay to get lost in books! It’s the cool thing to do!
Thanks so much Emily! That was a wonderful post! I love that you mom kept a list for you, and I hope you find it soon! That would be a treasure!
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In my about me page, I mentioned that I love working my way through book lists. I have several that I am actively working through and many others on the side that would be nice to get to, one day. I thought I would spend a moment and introduce those lists that are an active part of my reading patterns.
THE NEWBERY AWARD
In 1922, the American Library Association (ALA) began awarding The John Newbery Medal to what they determined to be the most distinguished contribution to children's literature for that year. Because of the multitude of amazing books written each year, the committee is also allowed to acknowledge those books which did not make the final cut but are still worthy of recognition. These are given The Newbery Honor Medal. While not a exact system, and each year there are and will be people who disagree with the novel chosen as the recipient, I appreciate the effort made to recognize these books and make them more accessible to children. If you are a recipient of the Newbery Award, your book will likely never go out of print (and it's kept some doozys around) and most libraries and bookstores will carry a copy. As of today — 6/28 — I have read 67 out of the 89 winners. I'm almost there! I intend to read and own every Newbery Winner. I'm not as committed to reading every honor (there are almost 300) but I'd like to read many, if not all of them at some point. THE PRINTZ AWARD
In 2000, the ALA added the Michael L. Printz Award to recognize those books which exemplify literary excellence in young adult literature. Like the John Newbery Award, each year a committee chooses which book most fits this criteria as well as recognizing the 'runners-up', which are awarded a Printz Honor. Because it's a newer award, I am aiming to read all of the winners and honors. I'd like to own many of them, but am not as committed to owning every one the way I am with the Newberys. So far, out of 11 winners I've read 3 and I've read 8 out of 41 honors. I've got a long way to go on this award, but I'm enjoying the process.
THE BBC'S THE BIG READ In 2003, The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) conducted a survey to determine the nation's favorite books. The list is in 3 parts — The top 100 favorites, top 200 favorites and the top 21. The top 21 books were ranked by popularity, with the understanding that each author could only be represented once among the top 21 favorites. My focus is on the top 100 books, although it may shift to include the top 200 once I complete the first bunch. So far I've read 29 1/2 (got stuck getting all the way through The Lord of the Rings trilogy) but I've got several more on my immediate to-read list.
