Luke Ladies Book Nook

Princess Stories

2011-11-13T18:41:00.001-08:00

I know, it's been forever. Does anyone check this anymore?? :) But I recently read two books that I enjoyed, both fairy tale retellings by Jessica Day George (how did I not know she existed until now?).

Princess of the Midnight Ball -- This is a retelling of the 12 dancing princesses story. I liked the setting a lot, and the main character is really the boy in this one. He was great. And he knits. How about that?

Princess of Glass -- This is a companion book, written about one of the younger sisters from the first princess story. I won't tell you which tale she's rewriting; see if you can guess! I think I liked this one even better than the first.

They're pretty easy reads with well-developed characters and they're both fun worlds to fall into for a while.

Still Alice

2011-06-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

I know I just published like two minutes ago but I forgot a book.

For book club we read this one, Still Alice by Lisa Genova.
This one was interesting, that is to say, not on my typical reads list. This one is about a professore at Harvard, very smart, very accomplished and in her hey day when she is suddenly diagnosed with early onset Alzhiemer's disease. Throughout the book Alice is faced with challenges that to use are as simple as using the restroom but because of her illness are a major difficulty. The tragedy is that fifty year old Alice loses her memory, her brilliant intelect, and her ability to understand language in it's more complex forms. However she gains a much stronger relationship with her children and finds new ways to show love and comprehension for every day events.
It's like she goes from the mind of an intelligent fifty year old to an infant with a mental dissability and has to re-learn how to communicate and understand.
This a great cry book.
anna-banana

Romeo's ex

2011-06-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

Out of my latest book wave my favorite was Romeo's ex by Lisa Fielder.
For all those Shakespear lovers like myself, this tells the story of Rosaline, the girl Romeo is in love with at the beginning of the play. Even if that isn't familiar, if you have seen the movie(s) or read the play you'll figure it out. The book is funny and uses rennaisance language very creativley mostly they just add "eth" or "st" to contemporary phrases that we use today.
anna-banana

The Boxcar Children The Guide Dog Mystery #53

2011-06-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Author: Gertrude Chandler Warner

Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry used to live in a boxcar. Now they live with their Grandfather.

The book is about Benny, Violet, Jessie, and Henry going to a guide dog school. Someone breaks

into a kennel and also steals a guide dog. The kids try to figure out who did it and where the dog is.

My favorite part is when Benny sees mysterious lights in a dormitory room. I like this part because it's mysterious and you never know what will happen next.

Ian

Scott Westerfeld

2011-05-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

I recently finished the Midnighters series and the Uglies/Pretties series. I read the series back to back and both were awesome! Matt has read his Levianthan series and liked that one.

Midnighters is about five teens that are awake during a secret hour that happens at midnight. Monsters also exist during that one hour out of 25. It is action/horror/mystery. There are 4 books in the series.

Uglies is a futuristic story where at the age of 16 you go under the knife and become "pretty". It's conspiratorial and keeps you guessing to the end. There are 3 books in the series but he just came out with a 4th that is about a different character, I haven't read the latest one yet.

There have also been several picture books that Natalie and I have both enjoyed. Here's one of them.
The Black Book of Colors
At night we read Shel Silverstein which she loves. We've read Falling Up, A Light in the Attic, Runny Babbit, Lafcadio. Next of the list is Where the Sidewalk Ends. Not long after we started reading his books she started to ask me if different words rhymed. Also if I am talking and happen to rhyme on accident she immediately notices and says, 'this word and that word rhyme'.

The end of a series

2011-05-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

Have you finished the Leven Thumps series yet?
I did and I have to say that I loved it!
The first book was written perfectly at my age...Leven is thirteen
Over the corse of the rest of the books Leven grows from thirteen to between sixteen and eighteen in about a month. Strangely relateable...






I really don't know how else to say how truly awsome these books are!
anna

Hello, all

2011-05-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

I have two for you, one is fiction and one is non-fiction. First the fiction, The Westing Game is quite entertaining. Do I remember the author, no I do not. This would be good for Regan also, it is an easy read and a good mystery. It was our book club book this month.
The non-fiction was last month's book club book. I had to go out of town for a funeral and so I missed the meeting, which angered me beyond words. I did everything possible to be back in time, but my transporter just wasn't working. You are now wild to know what this book is. I can tell. Once again I can't remeber the author, but the book is The Tipping Point. I would love for some of you to read it. We could arrange an online discussion if anyone was interested. Jim is reading it now and also finds it very interesting.
Love to all
Beth

Two more

2011-04-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to read much for fun lately, but here are a couple of novels that I liked:

Sabriel, Garth Nix
This is YA fantasy in an imagined world where Death is a place, not an event. The world he created was fascinating and frightening both. The title character is the daughter of a necromancer whose job it is to make sure the dead stay in Death. He disappears and she sets out on a quest to find him - or figure out what happened to him. I really liked the main character and her father. It was a bit too violent for me in a few parts though, especially for a YA novel. It's the beginning of a series, if you end up enjoying it. I haven't read on.

The Changeling Sea, Patricia McKilip
The heroine in this story is an ordinary girl who ends up doing extraordinary things. I always enjoy stories like that! Peri lives in a small town by the coast and has a love/hate relationship with the sea which has taken her fisherman father and left her mother helpless with grief. It read almost like a fairy tale. The writing was beautiful, and the story was well-developed, too.

Two for One Post!

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

My Man Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse

This is a collection of short stories (I love short stories, so I'm not tempted to stay up all night reading....) written in the early 20th century. I thought they were HILARIOUS! Wodehouse knows how to turn a phrase. They were so funny. If you're interested in a little break from reality, check him out.

44 Scotland Street, Alexander McCall Smith

This book came from a serialized novel, originally published in The Scotsman. It's a novel, but basically a series of short stories written about the same characters. It is set in Edinburgh and I thought it was fun to get a better look at the city I thought was so beautiful! The nice thing is that if you like it, there are at least 3-4 more books. The novel was so popular, he just kept writing.

The Secret Journal of Brett Colton

2010-12-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

"Kathy Colton can't stand her brother Brett. Her family talks as if he were perfect! All Kathy knows for sure is that Brett is dead. He died of leukemia when he was seventeen and she was only two. But when Kathy turns sixteen, she discovers her brother's hidden journal-a journal written especially for her-and learns about the brother she never know. At the same time, Kathy is mortified by an assignment to tutor the popular high school quarterback Jason West, a football jock who, even worse, is a Mormon."
I thought that this book was the perfect girl power book. It talks a lot about the lessons learned about faith, acceptance, forgiveness, and understanding. It made me cry...a lot...it still has a happy ending though
ANNA

Mr. Popper's Penguins

2010-10-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

by Richard and Florence Atwater

HADYN: Mr. Popper's was a very good story. I liked it very much, because there's a husband, named Mr. Popper and he really like the Antarctic, so he asked for a penguin in the mail. He got a penguin in a box. He liked it and called it Captain Cook. The zoo had a penguin that was a girl and they didn't want it, so they sent it to Mr. Popper, and since it was a girl, it laid lots of baby penguins, and they got tons and tons (maybe 10) penguins. Captain Cook was the father and Greta was the mother and they had a whole lot of penguins and they were great performers so they put them at a stage but at first they were at the wrong auditorium that they had to pay or they had to go to a different theater. You will like it if you read it.

REGAN: We read Mr. Popper's together, and I thought it was a really good book. It started out as Mrs. Popper and Mr. Popper with their two children. They got a penguin from Admiral Drake. They named it Captain Cook. The zoo gave them another penguin named Greta. They had a nest in the refrigerator and they got 12 babies. The penguins liked to walk up stairs and toboggan down. They became a circus act and they even got sent to jail. I thought it was a really good book. That's why I think you should read it.

MARIA: This was a great book to read. Not too hard to follow so Hadyn could follow, but funny enough that Regan stayed interested. It is a Newberry Honors book from 1939. It's a good get kids ready to go to sleep book, which means I loved it :).

When You Reach Me

2010-10-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

By Rebecca Stead

So I went to the National Book Festival a couple of weeks ago and heard a book talk by this author. Since I've been living in a cave the last year or so, I didn't know that she'd written the Newbery winner for this year -- this book. She was fantastic. I loved her talk, so I went straight to the library and checked it out. It was well worth a read. The main character is enjoyable. I liked how well-rounded all the characters are and how I came to like them all. The plot is intriguing, too. Recommended.

(This is when I had the epiphany that we'd named 3 of 4 children after characters in A Wrinkle In Time; if you read the book, you'll see why....)

Nancy Drew and the Bungalow Mystery (Book #3)

2010-09-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

We started reading this book about a month ago, and we finished it last night. Nancy was on a boat in a storm and a girl saved them from crashing into a rock and her name was Laura. Laura had a mystery for Nancy. Two weeks later, Laura came to Nancy to tell her about her strange guardians. My favorite part of the book was when Laura gave Nancy the aquamarine ring. I think you should read this book because it's exciting. Lisa just gave me a whole bunch of Nancy Drew books, so get ready for a whole bunch of Nancy Drew books on the Luke Ladies Book Nook!

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

2010-09-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished this, again, I've read it many times. It's a young adult book about Sam Westing, master of disguise and game playing, who in his will called 16 heirs to play the "Westing Game" to discover who took his life and figure out the solution, becoming the heir to his money. it's an easy read, and fun. It's fun to try and figure it out. It was made into a movie but I haven't seen it, so I don't know how much it follows the book.

The Julia Probyn Series

2010-09-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

Ann Bridge

This is a series of books written anonymously in the 1950s by a British diplomat's wife. She'd lived all over the world and writes stories set in those places. The collection I found was three books in one (they're out of print, I found this on abebooks.com for really cheap) called Julia Involved. These three were set in Morocco, Portugal, and Switzerland, respectively.

I liked her writing, and I liked the detail about the places and the events and the politics (a little, not too much!) of the time. It's fascinating how much has changed in 50 years. They're very readable: international intrigue with a little romance thrown in.

I've heard that her other books are great too (she wrote 20-30 of them) but they're all out of print and most of the others besides this series are very pricey. So if you find any Ann Bridge in used bookstores, pick it up and send it to me! :)

The Known World

2010-09-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

by Edward P. Jones

I just finished this last night. I'm trying to read some of the award-winning books from the library (Pulitzers, National Book Awards, Man Bookers, etc.) and I'm keeping a list so I can create my own library more high school student friendly. With so many of my friends having high school students, I keep hearing how so many of the "great" books are awful, and that it is difficult to find the reading list books because the library's copies are always checked out. I decided to start my reading now and buy books that are more likely to end up on these reading lists AND that I feel are appropriate to read. That said, I just finished this one, and found it very interesting. It won the Pulitzer in 2004, and this is the author's 2nd novel. (His 1st, Lost in the City, was a National Book Award finalist).

The book is set in the slavery era in Virginia, but is about an aspect of slavery I was not aware of. Apparently, there were a number of free blacks that were slave owners in the south. Usually it was second generation freed slaves, whose parents had themselves been slaves and been freed or purchased their freedom. I did not know this happened and imagine it would cause some difficulties in the families. Anyway, it is written in a really cool way, telling a story, but weaving in what happens in the future to the different characters. I really enjoyed it. It supposedly paints a fairly realistic picture of slavery, which I appreciate. Most interesting were the interactions between the black and white slave owners, as well as the black slave owners relationships (often strained) with their parents.

I thought it was a good book. I added it to my "buy" list.

Baptism, by George Durrant

2010-08-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

This book is about a 7-year-old boy named George who is getting ready to be baptized. One story was about a fire. It was a rainy day, and George and his friends would usually cook potatoes in a bonfire, but it was rainy that day and they tried to chop down trees and build a fire, but the trees were too wet, so they decided to build a bonfire in Alan's barn. The barn caught on fire because they built a fire in there. George hid behind the stove because he knew he was in trouble. Their Mom and Dad talked about what had happened, and George heard that he was too little to know right from wrong, but George knew he really was responsible and had done something wrong. He decided to repent.

I liked this book because it had fun stories.

Calvin

(This was a fun book, just memories the author had of experiences that prepared him for baptism. I recommend it, especially for boys.)

Encyclopedia Brown Sets the Pace

2010-07-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

written by Donald J. Sobol... reviewed by Regan E. Luke

Do you like mysteries? I do. So I decided to read Encyclopedia Brown Sets the Pace. It's 10 small stories in one book. One of my favorites was "The Case of the Crowing Rooster". It started out that on a "Thursday evening Encyclopedia was trimming the bushes in front of his house when Lisa Periwinkle raced by on her bicycle." Encyclopedia was wondering why she was in such a hurry. Encyclopedia went with Lisa to go to the junkyard for a meeting. When they got there Bugswent with his partner, Bill Canfield, and Bill Canfield had an invention to make the roosters crow. Encyclopedia figured out that the roosters crowed three times because Bill was hiding it in the darkness because when roosters see light, they crow, so that's how come it crowed. Bill said that if they gave him $5 to make more fake rooster machines he would give them one. But Bill was actually just stealing money. I liked this book because I love mysteries. I also like it because I like how you get part of the story and you can figure it out on your own or go to the back and see what the answer is. You should read this book...in fact your whole family should read it!

39 Clues Books 1-3

2010-06-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Scholastic scheme or not. I've enjoyed this series. I've been listening to them while I clean. The reader is really good. Each book is by a different author. The first author is one that Matt really likes. One and Three were better than Two. I'm looking forward to many more hours of entertainment!

The Hunger Games

2010-06-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

by Suzanne Collins

Okay, here's my latest read. It is all the rage right now, at least around here, with the youth. I borrowed it from the library and found it in the young adult section. I really liked it. It is set in the future in the wasteland that was once the United States. In an effort by "The Capitol" to keep the outlying districts aware of their weakness and subservience, the Hunger Games are created. It is a bit brutal...a fight to the death by teenagers chosen by lottery from each district. It is sort of a spin on our increasing addiction to reality TV, I suppose. Anyway, it's one of those books you read without having to think to much, but it really draws you in. I finished very quickly, in fact, I had it at the house when we had everyone over for Memorial Day, and before I even got a chance to start it, Lisa borrowed it (to save the 100+ person wait list at the library) and read it, then Andrew and Dave read it. This was all within a week. So, I guess I'm not the only one who got into it. As of today, I am #117 on the library's wait list for book 2 of the series, Catching Fire. Enjoy!

Skellig

2010-06-01T06:24:00.001-07:00

I can't remember the author. I think it's Alan Something? Maybe not. Anyway, it's about an English boy and his parents who move into a new house. They're trying to deal with fixing up the place, a premature baby, and all the adjustments involved. Meanwhile, the boy finds a mysterious visitor in the crumbling old garage....

I liked this book because of the relationship between the boy and his parents and his new sister. They were under stress, but underlying it all was love. Too many books about kids portray the parents as clueless or uncaring, but this one didn't. Plus it had a supernatural, mysterious twist that still doesn't entirely make sense to me that made the book memorable.

Affinities

2010-05-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

Affinities and Other Short stories
by: Mary Roberts Rinehart

I picked this book up somewhere, I was drawn to the old cover as well as the authoress. At the time I thought it was Radcliffe not Rinehart. Radcliff is mentioned in Jane Austen's books. I began reading the first story titled Affinities and was a little shocked at the story line as it was married couples going out for a secret picnic with other people's spouses. This was especially troublesome to me after seeing that it was first published in 1909. I paused in my reading to do a quick wikipidea search on the author to rule out any Nora Roberts of the 1900's. I was reassured by what I found on the web and picked up the book again. It took me maybe an hour and a half to read the entire story and I'm so glad I did. It had a good moral and I had a good laugh after it was all said and done. The first thing I thought when I was done reading it was, my grandmother would love this story!

The Secret Life of Bees

2010-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

This book is by Sue Monk Kidd, who it says lives in Charleston. Maybe Kellie will run into her :). Anyway, it's set in South Carolina (they mention Goose Creek!) in 1964 as the Civil Rights Act was signed. It's about a white 14 year old girl named Lily, and her colored nanny/housekeeper Rosleen. Lily runs away from home and takes Rosleen with her, after Rosleen got herself in trouble when trying to register to vote. They end up in the home of three colored sisters, one of whom is a beekeeper. The sisters let them stay. It's about Lily coming to terms with her childhood, her mother, her father, and the changing world; she has a policeman tell her she's lowered herself by living with these ladies, yet she finds she likes being there better than she ever liked her own home. There is swearing in it.

I'm now reading The Help, as Maria suggested, which is very good, and it's interesting to read these two books about the same subject - civil rights and segregation in the South in the early '60s. It would be interesting to hear what someone who lived in that era - hint, hint Mom - has to say about it, I'm sure that Utah/Idaho were far different from the South at that time. Was anything in Idaho/Utah even segregated?

Forest Born

2010-04-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

I just finished Forest Born, by Shannon Hale. She's LDS (I'm almost positive) and her books are great (nothing religious at all, I just read her little summary about herself). This is the fourth in a series, the first is Goose Girl, then Enna Burning, then River Secrets. She also wrote The Princess Academy. It's taken me a while to read each one, just not enough time, but once I get about halfway through it's so hard to stop! The endings are all really good, and often surprising. Thanks, Deb, for tipping me off to her books! And letting me borrow one :)

The Miracle at Speedy Motors

2010-04-21T12:49:00.001-07:00

by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the 8th or 9th book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series. I love them. They're not difficult reads but they aren't light-minded either. The characters are well drawn. I love getting a glimpse of Botswanan culture, and sometimes, they are laugh-out-loud funny. I recommend them.

Nancy Drew and Fablehaven

2010-04-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is Regan and Hadyn. We just finished the first book of Nancy Drew. (Editor's note: Regan's comments are in green and Hadyn's are in purple.) It was about three people who stole some furniture from the Topham's. I liked the book very much. Nancy was trying to find the clock the thieves took in a van. The secret was really mysterious. Inside of the clock was Josiah Crowley's notebook that said that another will was made. The Topham family wanted to destroy the will because they didn't get any money. You should read this book. I got another Nancy Drew book, The Secret of the Wooden Lady, from the library on April 9th, yesteday. I can't wait to read it. I want to read another Nancy Drew book as soon as possible. I hope the mystery will be mysterious and I bet I'll like it a lot. (Editors note, again: This is how every conversation goes in my house :) If I could have figured out how to type two sentences on top of one another I would have done so, just to make the convo more realistic. The girls LOVED Nancy Drew. Regan and I went to the library yesterday, and I taught her how to use the computers to find and/0r request books from other libraries as well. She's has a list of which ones she wants to read next. Hard enough to be challenging for Regan to read on her own, but easy enough language for them to follow the story when I read it out loud. Now we're on to Charlotte's Web, then back to Nancy Drew #2...)

I'm sure you've all already finished this, since I believe I am the last person on the planet to read it, but I really enjoyed it. A good fantasy, without the weird sci-fi stuff. It was easy to read and didn't take a lot of thinking, which is nice every now and then. I have actually requested the 2nd book from the library, so that tells you something, I guess. I also told the story to Regan, and now she has confiscated my copy and is reading it as well. I'm not sure she has the staying power to read that long of a book, but I don't mind that she does read it. There is one chapter where the plot gets a little scary. Not too bad. I'd still read it to Regan, but not as a bedtime story. Maybe an after school story for that chapter. This author lives in Utah, around the Point of the Mountain. Wave says the author is actually going to do a book signing at Joplin sometime soon. Regan and I might just have to crash that party... If you have been living on another planet and haven't read this one yet (as I was), I do recommend it. It's perfect for just picking up when you have 10 minutes here and there to read. Happy Reading!

Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard by Fan Shen

2010-03-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this for a book club I'm in, and I really liked it. It is written by Fan Shen, who was a pre-teen when Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution "hit" China, and was a avid supporter of the revolution and the Communist party. He quickly became disenchanted as he witnessed and took part in the reality of it. Fan Shen's autobiography tells of all the years he spent in China, assigned to various jobs, no longer believing in the Communist regime, but unable to protest without losing his life. It is so fascinating as a first-hand account of Communism, but it reads like a novel. So interesting. It's one you can't put down. Fan Shen, the author now lives and teaches college in the US. I think it is out of print now, but I was able to find a copy at the library.

Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell

2010-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to be her masterpiece. It's mostly about a girl and her father and what happens when he decides (after being a widower for many years) to remarry. It's very slow-paced, which is fine in the beginning when you're still getting a feel for the characters and the setting. It starts to drag, though, when the action gets going, and you want to know how things are going to resolve themselves and she takes 300 pages to do it!

The main problem: Gaskell died before she finished the book! No one told me and the story ends with only a chapter or two to go. It was really frustrating after investing myself for 650 pages. Maybe other versions have added an ending, but mine didn't.

But I've got my name in for the DVD at the library. I've heard the movie version is very good, so if you don't want to slog through the text, that is another option because it really is a good story. :)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2010-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

I am not quite done with this one yet, but if I didn't have to put it down, I wouldn't. It is an awesome book. Our book club read it last month, but I am only just now getting to it. It is based in the deep south of Mississippi, during the days of MLK. It is about the racial tensions of the time, mostly through the perception of the black maids in a town. It switches around from chapter to chapter telling the story in a different maid's "voice", or that of a young society woman who is getting tired of how the "help" is being treated, and is secretly writing a book about it. Anyway, it is really well-written, not too wordy, but interesting. It is on the best seller list, so if you are like me and borrow from the library, you'll probably have a bit of a wait, but it is well worth it.

Some reading I've done lately:

2009-12-31T17:12:00.001-08:00

Eragon, Christopher Paolini:

This one was a media darling and best seller. It's a fantasy novel that's basically a ripoff of Tolkien (Aragorn vs. Eragon -- coincidence? I think not) and some other fantasy authors. It's ok as a middle school level read, but I didn't love it and I'm not planning on reading the rest of the series. I hear they get more violent and less middle-schoolish. I liked Eragon's dragon, though. She was the best character in the book.

Cotillion, Georgette Heyer:

This was recommended by a friend. It's set in Jane Austen's Regency England. It took me a while to get into it. She's a little heavy on the period slang, esp her main male character, but once you get past that, it's a fun story. Very light, but good characterizations and it made me giggle. She's written about 50 books, so it's nice to know I have a fall back when I need some escapist reading.

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell:

Despite the title, it's not about the Civil War! :) It's set in England in about 1850 and Gaskell is contrasting the old rural, aristocratic England with the new Industrial England in Manchester. It was really interesting because that's exactly where the Lukes were and what they were doing in 1850: working in the mills in Manchester, and also because it's just a well-written book. I liked the main characters a lot. I liked the romance part; it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice several times. Gaskell is a really good writer, and I hear the BBC movie version is great, too!

Happy New Year!

My Favorite Christmas Books

2009-12-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

I have a few books I like to read in December, plus many children's books, but that's another post!

One book that is hilarious is Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. It was made into a movie, Christmas With the Kranks, which follows the book pretty well. Even the librarian, when I checked the book out, said she laughed out loud reading it. It is funny, pretty short, and easy to read.

I also like The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway. There is a second book, The Christmas Quest. I think The Christmas Wish was also made into a movie, but I haven't seen it.

And then Donna VanLiere wrote a series of books, the first one is The Christmas Shoes, it's based on the song Christmas Shoes. She has now 5 books in the series. They are pretty fast reads too.

Constance by Patricia Clapp

2009-11-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

This is a great Thanksgiving book. It's about a 15 year old girl Constance (mostly true story, a few parts I guess were made up but basically true, written by her descendent), who came over on the Mayflower, and how they started life here. It covers about 7 years of her life. I believe it's written for young adults, but I thought it was a good story talking about the reality of their first few years in Plymouth. It was pretty hard for them! I tried to explain to Ian that the Pilgrims didn't have cars and grocery stores and heating and things like that - they really had to do with what they could gather or grow.

Various Titles

2009-11-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

Something Familiar by Pamela Carrington Reid

Who doesn't love a good clean romance every once and a while. I really liked this one because it wasn't as sappy and predictable as some. Although, if you don't like romance novels don't go for this one.(remember I said not AS sappy and predictable...not that it WASN'T sappy and predictable!) I really enjoyed it. I think what I really liked about it was, I could put it down. Some romance novels keep me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I devour them like a chocolate candy bar. This book was more like chocolate cake, I could eat it one bite at a time.

Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

I listen to this one on CD and enjoyed it as much as the first. It's very different, but still lots of fun! I love that these books appeal to such a wide variety of people and ages.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

This is another one I listen to. It too was different then it's predecessor, but I still really liked it! It's such an interesting look into human nature and its frailties. It's amazing how much our perspective taints what we see. My dad was an investigator and I remember him coming home once telling me to read a particular news article and when I had finished, him saying, "That's not what happened, I can't tell you what happened, but that's not true." Another thing he use to say was, "You can have 5 eye witnesses to a crime, and they will tell 5 completely different accounts of the same event, often contradicting one another." Knowing this makes it pretty easy to dismiss a lot of negative accounts of the prophet Joseph. It also makes me wonder how much of the news stories we hear or read about, are actually what really happened. As you can see, this book really made me think. I'm looking forward to reading the 4th one.(the 3rd is a prequel to the 1st, and I'm not sure if I'll read it.)

The Mysterious Benedict Society

2009-10-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I second Kellie's recommendation of this book. It was really fun. It's probably aimed at kids aged 8 or 9 to 11 or 12. It's an easy read but good plot and good characters.

I also reread The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas) recently, which I loved as a teenager, but now I thought it was kind of depressing. The plot gets pretty dark at the end. It's a good book, but I'm not sure I'll be reading it again.

And I reread The Hobbit, just for fun. I'm already looking forward to the boys getting old enough to read aloud with me because it's really a fun adventure, much lighter than The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The City of Ember

2009-09-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Another one I listened to on CD, I like having the noise while I do housework! It was very intriguing a good read for a 10-15 year old boy or girl. It's about a city underground that's loosing power. They don't know they're underground though...it's sort of a mystery. I really really liked it and am listening to the second book, The People of Sparks, right now. I enjoy the way the writer expresses herself.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

2009-09-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Absolutely loved it! Would appeal to both girls and boys. I listened to it on CD and the reader, Del Roy, was very good. I wasn't sure what to excpect and couldn't guess where the plot would lead me. I like to be surprised and not be able to guess at what's going on. It was refreshing to read (listen to) something so unique.

Time Enough For Drums

2009-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Time Enough For Drums by Ann Rinaldi

Loved it! Found it amidst Matt's old books. He said he'd never read it and that it might have been one of you girl's books. It's a historical fiction novel about the revolutionary war. A fabulous story with just enough of a good clean romance. I'd read this again.

A Room With A View, EM Forster

2009-08-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

The book is mostly about Lucy Honeychurch who with her aunt travels to Italy for an educational vacation that ends up expanding her view of the world in unexpected ways.

I think this is the 3rd time I've read this book, and I think I like it more every time. That's a good book! I picked it up again because I wanted to read something that I wouldn't get obsessed with but would still offer a little escape before bed at night. I enjoy Forster's characterizations and his subtle humor. He creates some strange and memorable scenes that really stick with you. Definitely recommended.

The Truth About Sparrows

2009-08-22T21:40:00.001-07:00

I just read The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale. It is a young adult book, and I liked it. It is the author's first book, and it looks like she's written a couple more since then.

It's about a family who, during the Depression, has to leave their farm and move to where they can find work fishing. The 12 year old girl comes to realize a lot about life as she watches new people observe her father, who can't use his legs, and as she works in a shrimp factory to help out, take care of her mom and siblings, etc., all while feeling very upset about losing their home and living in a shack by the sea.

I suppose it's kind of a "coming of age" book, where she goes from being a girl with a happy life to growing up in her thoughts and actions through her adversities.

The Enchanted Chocolate Pot

2009-07-07T10:27:00.001-07:00

Sorcery and Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

A friend recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad she did!

The novel began as a writing game. The two authors wrote letters back and forth to each other, one as each character, without discussing plot or anything. This is the result. It's the story of Cecelia and Kate, two cousins living in Jane Austen's England -- but with a magical twist.

Highly recommended!

The Chocolate Touch

2009-07-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Chocolate Touch
by Patrick Skene Catling

Jared, Calvin and I read this book aloud as a bedtime story. Here's what the boys have to say about it (beware of many spoilers):

Calvin:
"I liked when everything turned into chocolate, whatever he put in his mouth, in The Chocolate Touch. I thought it was funny when his trumpet turned into chocolate. I think other people would like to read this book because when they bobbed for apples, the water turned to chocolate syrup then he ran home, it was so funny."

Jared:
"I really liked the chocolates. It was funny when the Mom turned into chocolate. I liked that he kept eating chocolates. It was so funny."

And there you have it. :)

Walk Two Moons

2009-05-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

I read this book on the plane to and from Denver. It's a young adult book I first read in a children's literature class in college. It's a Newbery Award Winner. It's about a girl driving across country with her grandparents to Lewiston, Idaho. She is telling her grandparents a story about her friend, while at the same time discovering her own story. I like it, it's easy to read and has some good messages to it.

Chronicals of Narnia Books

2009-05-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Regan. A few months ago Hadyn and I wanted to watch the Narnia movie, but we had to read the book first. So we started reading the Narnia books. When we were done with the second book, which is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we watched the movie. I liked the movie better than the book . The book is mostly about four kids. The kids' names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. My favorite people in the movie was the witch and the two girls, Lucy and Susan. Lucy discovers the wardrobe when they were playing hide-and-go-seek on a rainy day. She hided in the wardrobe and she met a half person/half goat , and the goat guy is Lucy's friend. Then the witch finds the half person/half goat and then he gets arrested. Lucy and her brothers and sister, Peter and Edmund and Susan, helped Lucy find Mr. Tumnus (that's the half person/half goat). I think you should read this because it's cool.

We are still reading the Narnia books. Right now we are in the middle of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I like it because this mean kid, Eustace turns into a dragon because he was selfish. Eustace had a gold bracelet on, and when he turned into a dragon it got stuck on his arm, which was now a dragon leg, and Lucy wanted to help the dragon with the bracelet.

You'll like the books as much as me. I promise.

See you later!

Regan

Ties that Bind, Ties that Break

2009-05-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Note: These books are some that were given to Deb while we were there. Mostly children's books.

By Lensey Namioka, 1999. Great book! Informative, educational, interesting. Story of Arlen Tao, in China 1911, about traditions of that time. A young child in a high class family, Arlen has no experience with life outside their home. She is schooled at home, a marriage is arranged when she is 5, but her future mother-in-law is very disproving that they haven't bound her feet yet. Her older sister invites her into her rooms when the servants are washing her feet, and she sees for the first time what binding the feet means and refuses to let them do that to her. Her father takes her side. He realizes that times are changing and they need to move in that direction in their family. He also lets her go to a school for girls where she learns English and about the outside world. Of course, the marriage is cancelled since she isn't a proper girl anymore. Her father dies, an uncle takes over the family compound and refuses to pay for her schooling anymore, and basically kicks her out.

A lot of historical information, intriguing story, and a look into a culture we know almost nothing about. One of my favorites that I've read recently!

The Summer of the Swans

2009-05-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

Newberry award book by Betsy Byars, published 1970. Says it's for ages 8-12. Story told by 14 year old girl, Sara who has a younger brother, Charlie. Charlie had a serious illness when he was 3 and it damaged his brain. He doesn't speak, and is behind developmentally. They and an older sister live with an Aunt. Their Dad works in another town and and comes home occasionally.

In the spring, swans come to a small lake nearby for a short time each year. Sara and Charlie walk down to the lake to watch them and Charlie is fascinated by them. That night Charlie disappears. Touching story about the entire town trying to find Charlie, and Sara's emotions as she realizes how much she loves her brother, and finally accepts help from a boy she previously thinks is a jerk who helps her find Charlie. Touching story. Probably good for teens maybe up to 16.

2009-05-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to getting a Google account so I can join this group. Deb commented on Lemon Tart - definitely not the most scholarly piece, but a fun read anyway. I don't have a lot of free time, and I read late at night, or on trips, etc., and usually pick things that are pretty light. More later on the recent books I've read.

Ralph S. Mouse, et al.

2009-04-21T10:27:00.001-07:00

Calvin, Jared, and I are reading Ralph S. Mouse together. I'll try and get Calvin to write a review when we're done. :)

I'm also reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I got bored with Robinson Crusoe) and I just finished The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson which I really liked. I'll write a review when I have a minute.

Family

2009-04-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

That's the name of the book I'm reading. It's by Karen Kingsbury. She writes a lot of books, puts them out fast. This is one of a series. She's a Christian author, and all the books quote scripture from some version of the Bible and someone always finds their way back to church, but I like to read her books because there isn't anything bad in them - I know there won't be any swearing or anything like that. They're easy to read and I don't have to think about it, which I like, since I read at night to fall asleep or while I'm eating lunch to distract me from the rest of the day's duties.

Lemon Tart

2009-04-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I just read Mom's copy of Lemon Tart, by Josie Kilpack (? something like that). It's one of her Mormon mysteries. It was pretty good and a fast read but definitely in need of a better editor. It could have been a lot better had someone helped her tighten up the prose and stop talking down to the reader.

Mom's read about 5 books since she's been here, so I'm trying to convince her to write about them on here! Stay tuned! :)

Fablehaven 4

2009-04-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

That sounds like a good boy book. Treasure Island is another one that boys would love! Peter Pan is pretty good too! Also, Sherlock Holmes. Just some suggestions. I'm currently reading Fablehaven 4. For anyone who wants to start the series I have the first book but not the 2nd or 3rd. I love them. They are fantasy books. Younger kids like them too, but you'd have to read out loud because there are lots of words.

Welcome!

2009-04-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

Let's give this a try and see how it goes. Here's my first post:

I'm just starting Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. It's the first novel written in English, and I've never read it. It seems boyish and I'm trying to expand my knowledge of boy-books. :) I'll let you know how it goes.