Readers and Reading discussion

Michael, I once had a reluctant reader and remember the day that she was turned on by a book I found for her. It is/was a wonderful feeling. Opened up a whole new world. She now reads as much as I do, if not more.

Alison wrote: "Theoretically I fixed that -- but you'll need to let me know if it worked or not!"

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Thank you for putting me on your GR Friends list. :)

Someone who is not on your GR Friends list will have to tell you if they can see your book lists.

Could someone check ? Just click Alison's avatar. Thanks !

Looks good...I can see Alison's books. :-)

Michael, I've become a watcher of the YA new books lists after Lois pushed me into reading The Book Thief. I read Markus Zasuk's The Messenger after that and I want to read Gaimen's The Graveyard Book. Richard Peck was also a favorite author as well for writing books for the young'uns and for us older folk as well.

Thanks, Julie. :)

Several years ago, I picked up a YA book only because it been misshelved or abandoned on the new fiction shelf at the library. I found it quite moving and well written -- the book was Ghost Boy by Iain Lawrence. It was about a 14-year-old albino boy whose life was a misery of bullying so opts to run away and join up with the other freaks who inhabit a down-at-the-heels traveling circus. It is well worth the reading, but then all good children's books are.

Yes, Alison. Ghost Boyis wonderful. My library weeded it from its collection and it has become a permanent part of my library. It's one of my favorite circus novels.

I read non fiction YA books all the time. It's a great way to approach a new topic or as a refresher. The biographies are nice, too. They are simple and concise (usually under 200 pages) and if the topic catches your fancy you can then move on to longer and more indepth adult works.

I just read a fascinating bio on Sterling Biographies: Marie Curie: Mother of Modern Physics by Janice Borzendowski. I can still recall a YA book I read last year. It was a very touching bio of Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg and would absolutely recommend it.

I also just started to read a science The Makers of Modern Science series that is quite informative. The first one I read was about Barbara Mcclintock: Pioneering Geneticist by Ray Spangenburg. Yesterday at the library I picked up another one in the Makers of Modern Science series about an undersea archaeologist Robert Ballard: Explorer and Undersea Archaeologist by Lisa Yount. He is famous for his discovery of the RMS Titanic, the German battleship Bismark, aircraft carrier Yorktown, and PT 109 torpedo boat that was once commanded by JFK.

Peg wrote: "Michael, I've become a watcher of the YA new books lists after Lois pushed me into reading The Book Thief. I read Markus Zasuk's The Messenger after that and I want to read Gaimen's The Graveyard ..."

Although I'd heard The Book Thief was a YA, I'd forgotten. Of course, the greatest of all the "modern" (be generous with me here, please!) YAs is The Phantom Tollbooth. Not absolutely certain how that would read to an adult, but the dryness of much of its wit seems quite adult, in my memory.

I know The Phantom Tollbooth was in our house when my daughter was in school but I don't remember if I ever read it. I like dry wit.

I also am a fan of YA fiction, though I read less now that I am not teaching. I adored The Graveyard Book.

Reading and re-reading books like The Phantom Tollbooth was one of the best perks of being a parent.

Michael, I've read "Hunger," now "Pan" both by Knute Hansum, all because you praised "Growth of the Soil" last year and because H.G.Wells said it was among the greatest novels he had ever read. I agreed with both of you and I have recently done some research on Hansum which added to the reading experience.

Lois

I also finished Hunger this winter, and I probably didn't like it as well as you, though I did admire the way the author portrayed the physical and psychological effects of starvation. I began to feel after a while that the story could have been condensed some.

W1564 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. VII), by the Rev. Horace K. Mann (read 1 May 1980) This volume covers only three Popes. The account of Gregory VII is most fascinating, and the Canossa incident has never been told to me in such detail before. St. Gregory VII was buried in the Church of St, Matthew in Salerno, where he died 25 May 1085. I was surprised to learn that Blessed Victor III scarcely functioned as Pope, mostly because he did not want to. He was not elected till 24 May 1086! He left Rome four days later and "retired" to Monte Cassino. In March 1087 he resumed the Papacy. He died 16 Sept 1087 at Monte Cassino, where he was buried. Blessed Urban II was elected 12 Mar 1088. I really was not too impressed by him. He spent a year preaching the First Crusade, he seemed temporizing, and all in all I don't think he was too great. Jerusalem was taken 15 July 1099 but Urban died 29 July 1099 before the news reached him. A good volume in this series.

1565 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. VIII), by the Rev. Horace K. Mann (read 4 May 1980) This volume read quickly. It is mainly about Paschal II, who had a rough pontificate. He was elected 13 Aug 1099, and died in Rome on 21 June 1118. He was buried at the Lateran basilica. On Jan 24, 1118, Gelasius II was elected. He was assailed on the day of his election and maltreated, but was consecrated 20 Mar 1118. He was a monk but not a priest when elected--he wasn't ordained till 9 Mar 1118. He died 29 Jan 1119 at Cluny, and was buried there. His tomb was still to be seen in the 18th century. Not now? Calixtus II was Guy of Vienne--he was a cousin of Henry I of England and of Emperor Henry V. His niece was the wife of King Louis VI (the Fat) of France. He died 13 Dec 1124 and was buried in the south transept of the Lateran basilica. Honorius II was elected 21 Dec 1124 and died 19 Feb 1130, and was buried at the Lateran . An interesting volume.

1566 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. IX) , by the Rev. Horace K. Mann, D.D. (read 6 May 1980) This volume tells of Innocent II, who had a very troubled reign. I have a lot of trouble with his election, and wonder if he would have been accepted as a true Pope if his anti-Pope had not been the grandson of a converted Jew. Innocent II was elected by a majority of eight Cardinals--actually by four Cardinals, just hours after Honorius II died. Innocent II died 24 Sept 1143 and was buried in the Lateran basilica. Celestine II was elected quickly, and died 8 Mar 1144 in Rome, and was also buried in the Lateran basilica. Lucius II died 15 Feb 1145 and was likewise buried in the Lateran basilica. Blessed Eugenius III died 8 July 1153 and was buried in St. Peter's. Anastasius IV died 3 Dec 1154 and was buried in the Lateran basilica. Hadrian IV was the first of the really lordly Popes, and the account of his life and reign is full of interest. He was buried at St Peter's.

1567 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. X), by the Rev. Horace K. Mann, D.D. (read 11 May 1980) This is a really great volume. It deals with Alexander III, who had a difficult but fascinating pontificate. Both the account of his difficulties with Frederick Barbarossa and the anti-Pope, and the account of the fight between Henry II and St Thomas a Becket make for fascinating reading. Alexander III died at Civita Castellona, but was buried at the Lateran. Lucius III was seldom in Rome, and died at Verona, where he was buried. Urban III died at Ferrara and was buried there. Gregory VIII died at Pisa and was burred there. Clement III died at Rome and was buried in the Lateran basilica. Celestine III died at 92 in Rome and was buried in the Lateran basilica. A very good volume in this series.

1568 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. XI), by the Rev. Horace K. Mann (read 15 May 1980) This volume is devoted entirely to Innocent III but does not complete him, but covers only his relations with Italy, the Empire and the East. Mann gives a pretty full treatment of these items, which are fairly familiar to me--at least the Fourth Crusade is.

1569 The Lives of the Popes in the Middle Ages (Vol. XII), by the Rev. Horace K. Mann, D.D. (read 17 May 1980) This volume, like Volume XI, is about Innocent III and is very laudatory. It surveys the relations of Innocent III with various lands, especially England, but really the book did not cover anything as interestingly as I thought might have been done. For instance, the Lateran Council was covered in only a few pages.

1570 History of American Presidential Elections 1789-1968 Volume II Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Editor (read 24 May 1980) This volume, which is the only volume of this four-volume work I've read, covers the elections from 1848 through 1896. Since National Conventions have been of extreme interest to me since I discovered there was such a thing when the Republican Convention of 1940 was on the radio and I spent the rest of my youth trying to get out of farm work so I could listen to the conventions on the radio, I read this volume (1874 pages) word-for-word. It is uneven, since each election's account is by a different author, and each election account is followed by platforms, speeches, and editorials concerning that election. But in general each account was absorbing reading, and I slogged through platforms and speeches because they too had some interest. I would think this one of the best books I've read this year. It is true the subject matter is very familiar, but it has been quite a while since I've read in the field and so much was like a visit with old friends. Among the speeches reported was my old friend, Bryan's Cross of Gold speech, and I was thrilled to re-read those so familiar lines.

1571 Rupert Brooke: A biography, by Christopher Hassell (read 31 May 1980) Brooke was born 3 Aug 1887 at Rugby, and died 23 April 1915 on Scyros in the Aegean. This is a long book, detailed, but I really enjoyed it very much. I was impressed by the poetry, and while Brooke's romance with Ka Cox was tedious and not interesting, I reveled in the English pictures. I really had known little of him--that he had gone to Tahiti, even New Zealand, and the U.S. and Canada. The book is a little obscure, as if one knows stuff one doesn't, but I really believe it was worthwhile to read it, even though the body of his work does not fill a large volume. A memorable volume.






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One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Try it now.hat I Read in May 30 Years Ago (1980)

What I Read in May 30 Years Ago (1980)--title to preceding post

Lois, I'm delighted to hear that you've enjoyed those Hamsun books. Pan is one of my favorites of his. If you liked those, Mysteries: A Novel would probably be another good one; and I particularly liked August, which I just read last year. It was a little hard to find, but a good-sized library system might have it. A lot of people like Hunger, though it is unlike most of his later writing. I had Sherry's experience, that it seemed just a tiny bit thin, to me. Now tell me, what sort of research did you do into Hamsun? He is quite a fascinating figure, I think. One aspect of his writing that I like is how big a role the forest plays in many of his books. Often a refuge from civilization for his protagonists -- people who seem to have problems with human society at times -- and a place of freedom and at least the opportunity for feeling a deep unity with nature.

Kriverbend wrote: "Michael, I've read "Hunger," now "Pan" both by Knute Hansum, all because you praised "Growth of the Soil" last year and because H.G.Wells said it was among the greatest novels he had ever read. I a..."

I'm in such a reading slump. I read "Lucky", Alice Sebold's memoir of rape over a month ago. It was brutal, and I couldn't find anything that felt right to follow it up with. Then I decided to finally read "Great Expectations", which took me forever to finish. Now I am halfway through Anne Lamott's newest fiction "Imperfect Birds", and its just not grabbing me either. I've always liked her non-fiction better. I also have "Rose Variations" which I picked up at the library after learning that the author lives in my hometown, but so far that hasn't appealed to me either. I need to find a really good book, something along the lines of "Cutting for Stone"!

Karla (KLouise61) wrote: "I'm in such a reading slump.."

Is there anything worse than this?

I always have to turn to either short stories or non-fiction when this happens to me.

Instead of being in a slump, I am having a grand time rereading "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" and reading for the first time the same Muriel Barbery's "Gourmet Rhapsody." The second book was written several years before the Elegance; the main character in the Gourmet book also lives at the apartment complex where the first takes place. Her writing fascinates me. On rereading the Hedgehog, I am savoring the humor that didn't make such an impression the first time. Both books are written in the same style, with rather short chapters devoted to a single incident, and peppered with the same sort of philosophical tidbits.

I know the Elegance book wasn't so interesting to a lot of readers, but it has certainly proved an ongoing pleasure to me and one I know I will come back to again. One of the real joys of reading to me is finding something out of the ordinary that does that.

I understand how dreadful that must be Karla :(( My method would be the same as Jo Ann, I would search for short stories / compilation both fic n non, in between reading the ones that take forever to finish. And until the right one comes along.

Louise, I also enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I read it last year and gave it 4 GR stars. A rating that indicates to me that the book was a cut above the rest.

Thanks for reminding me to put Gourmet Rhapsody on my TBR list.

When I am in a slump, I resort to short YA non fiction books or my stack of magazines.

Louise, I also enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Hope your slump evens out soon!

The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my daughter's favorite books, but I've never read it. I just retrieved her copy from the bookshelf to add to my TBR stack. I'm also going to mention it at our Mother/Daughter Book Club meeting tonight to see if something that the girls might like to read and discuss (not sure if all of them have already read it or not). Tonight we are discussing Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine which was a delightful book.

I would appreciate any other YA suggestions for our group.

Two less-obvious choices I'd recommend are Missing May by Cynthia Rylant and The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea. Missing May is about a young girl who had been passed from relative to relative after the death of her mother until she goes to live with an eccentric great-aunt and uncle who provide her with a much needed sense of being loved and cared for. When the story opens, the aunt, May, has died and both Summer and the uncle are disconsolate. The book focuses on their attempt to come to terms with their grief and to recover their joy of being alive. When I read it with my son, he was so concerned about the uncle's loss of the will to live that he made me read ahead so I could reassure him.... The book isn't a challenging read, but written in a way that opens up great discussions about love and loss.

The Hounds of the Morrigan is a great fantasy based on Irish mythology. In this book, Pidge (a 10-year-old boy) unwittingly lets loose great evil in the world when he opens a crumbling book in a Dublin used bookstore. Now he and his little sister must undo what he's done to save the world. Kids who loved The Never-ending Story and Madeleine L'Engle's books will adore this one as well. The edition we read had a glossary which was essential in those pre-Wikipedia days!

Alison wrote: "Two less-obvious choices I'd recommend are Missing May by Cynthia Rylant and The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea. Missing May is about a young girl who had been passed from relative to relativ..."

That touched me about your son, Alison. How sensitive he must be! Sweet.

Truthfully, I must confess that incident happened many years ago. He was about 11 or 12 at the time and is now 24. He's 'toughened up' in the intervening years, but the child is father to the man and he has the same kind instincts.

Thank you, Alison! I passed your suggestions along to our M/D Book Club leader who will select our books for next year over the summer. In the meantime I'm going to get The Hounds of the Morrigan for my daughter who is a HUGE Madeleine L'Engle fan. She also loved some of Cynthia Rylant's picture books when she was younger so I think she'll like Missing May as well.

Karla (KLouise61) wrote: "I'm in such a reading slump.

Karla, I wholeheartedly agree with y ou on Annke Lamotts book....I can't remember when I've been so disappointed.

If you can, please try Major Pettigrew's Last Stand...it's on my best of 2010 list. I've recommended it to many and it's been a hit.

Lois

Eloise wrote: "our M/D Book Club leader

If you want to 'branch out' a bit, the British film series, Wonderworks, made exceptionally faithful-to-the-book versions of several children's classics, including several of the Narnia books, The Secret Garden, Girl of the Limberlost, Jacob Have I Loved and a charming little fantasy called The Sand Fairy. Pairing the books and films might be a delightful way way to support girls whose reading skills may not be as strong and opens new avenues for discussion.

Alison wrote: "...a charming little fantasy called The Sand Fairy..."

Is that by any chance the Psammead, "star" ofFive Children and It ?

Eloise wrote: "The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my daughter's favorite books, but I've never read it... I'm also going to mention it at our Mother/Daughter Book Club meeting tonight..."

Eloise, you may have explained this previously, but... how does your M/D Book Club work? What is the range of ages of the daughters? Have you been doing it for long? Just curious! Thanks.

Hi Michael -- The Sand Fairy aired in the UK as Five Children and It,and as The Sand Fairy in the US. I don't know why they feel the need to change titles, but there you have it . . .