Newberry Challenge

Every year for the library's summer reading program I read a Newbery Award book. I've mentioned before that I probably wouldn't have read many of these without the encouragement offered by that program. And now, a new source of encouragement: Nattie at Nattie Writes! is hosting a Newbery Challenge.

Here is the challenge...
1. Pick 6 books from the Newbery list.
2. Comment at Nattie Writes! that you are in the challenge and list to your blog.
3. Post your picks on your blog.
4. You have from May 15, 2007 to Dec 31, 2007 to read and review the 6 books you choose.

My selections for this challenge:

1. The Higher Power of Lucky (2006)
2. The Westing Game (1979)
3. Bridge to Terabithia (1978)
4. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (1977)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1968)
6. A Wrinkle in Time (1963)

I am looking forward to reading these. I read Bridge to Terabithia years ago and do not remember it well. I would like to reread it before seeing the movie. The only other on my list that I've read before was Roll of Thunder - actually, I listened to it on tape. It's no surprise that I don't remember much for it either.

The Big Over Easy - DNF

By Jasper Fforde

Just recently I wrote rave reviews for Fforde's Thursday Next mystery series. Since the next book in that series isn't released yet, I thought I'd give Fforde's Nursery Crime series at try.

I just can't go another page. The storyline drags, the humor is mediocre, the characters are duds. This one is thrown over - an official Did Not Finish!

The timing for this book may have been unfortunate. Coming on the heals of The Magician's Nephew and Rises the Night means it had a lot to stand up against. Stand - It did not. Flop! The Big Over Easy himself, Humpty Dumpty, takes a mighty big fall.

The Magician's Nephew

By C.S. Lewis

I've read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and watched two different movie versions, but that was my only dip into the world of Narnia, until now. My daughter Katie has read all the books and has encouraged me for years to do the same.

She informs me that even though this was not the first one Lewis wrote, it is the first in the series. I enjoyed it every bit as much as The Lion... C.S. Lewis figured out so many beautiful truths about good and evil after his passage through atheism. What a brilliant mind and soul he had. On top of those gifts, he has the ability to write beautiful stories filled with symbolic allegories.

Uncle Andrew is the magician who gives his nephew Digory this sound nugget of advice.
"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."

The story is about the adventures of Digory, Polly and a few people touching them as they slipped on the magic rings that took them to the land of Narnia. Oh, and the horse. We learn the origins of the evil witch/queen Jadis who we meet again in The Lion...

There's a very funny scene when the animals of Narnia try to decide what Uncle Andrew is. "There!" said several voices. "It isn't an animal at all. It's not alive."
"I tell you, it is an animal," said the Bulldog. "Smell it for yourself."
"Smelling isn't everything," said the Elephant.
"Why," said the Bulldog, "if a fellow can't trust his nose, what is he to trust?"
"Well, his brains perhaps," she replied mildly.
They finally decide he is a tree and try to plant him head down. The discussion is funny because at this point Uncle Andrew is not much of a hero figure.

I like this passage that gives hope to those who have met or know of Aslan. "If ever they were sad or afraid or angry, the thought of all that golden goodness, and the feeling that it was still there, quite close, just around some corner or just behind some door, would come back and make them sure, deep down inside, that all was well."

This is excellent YA/children/adult literature. Next in line will be a rereading of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Book Club

Wow! Book Club went really well. We discussed Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett. In a previous post I mentioned my concern. The biggest complaints were that it was a collection of short stories and they didn't end neatly with all the loose ends tied up. There's were lots of comments, questions and discussion. Someone even commented that they usually only spend 5-10 discussing the book before getting sidetracked. Tonight we spent an hour and a half discussing the book. There were so many insights shared that I found myself liking the book even more.

For next months meeting we are reading One Thousand White Women. It looks like it will be interesting. Has anyone read it?

The Shop of Blossom Street

by Debbie Macomber
I have read several reviews of Macomber's books and they were always positive, so I bookmooched the first in The Knitting Books series. I'm sure that I would not have picked this book off the shelves - knitting?! no mystery? It's not the type of book that calls out to me, but I was game to give it a try.

I thought it was wonderful. It's an engrossing read of 4 disparate women who join a beginning knitting class. Lydia, the owner of A Good Yarn is the teacher. She has survived 2 bouts with cancer and is taking the first steps to reclaim her life. Alix has black hair with purple spikes and some dreams that seem impossible to attain. Jacqueline's son is married to a woman that jars on her nerves and is carrying her grandchild. Carol is in her late 30's and is hoping desperately that the last attempt at in vitro fertilization will be successful.

At first I thought the whole book would take place during the knitting lessons, but that's not the case. The chapters rotate between each woman, focusing on their lives away from the shop. I came to care about each character and was sad or happy with them. It was nice to see the friendship that grew over time and how they helped each other. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, A Good Yarn, which I've already mooched.

The chapters about Lydia, the shop owner, start with a quote about knitting. Even though I don't knit I have been involved over the years in various crafty pursuits, such as crocheting, tole painting, quilting, cross-stitching, scrapbooking, doll making, etc. So the truth of this quote resounded with me. "If you can count the number of projects you have going, you need to begin another, so you have a varied range of complexity, from the very simple 'mindless' ones to those that demand undivided attention." -Laura Early, lifetime knitter

I did some research on the author and discovered that she is a prolific writer. A list of all her series and books can be found at her website. I've already mooched the first book in her Cedar Cove series because I thought the title idea was so clever: The address in the title tells the order of the series, i.e. 16 Lighthouse Road starts with a 1, 204 Rosewood Lane starts with a 2, etc. Isn't that smart! She also has a couple of series that sound western in nature. I may be able to read one of those for my western category for my library's summer reading program - that's always a tough genre for me.