“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
june: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 & 33
i read 8 books this month (absurd! this is what quasi-vacation and lots of travel and then real vacation will do for you! oh, and audiobooks. audiobooks help), but only three books fulfilled categories in the reading challenge. must recommit myself to reading books outside my normal comfort zone!
the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry, by rachel joyce (this is my "book about a road trip" and it was recommended by a friend who is also doing the reading challenge. this was okay, but not transformative. an easy read. if i was from england i think i would have enjoyed the details of all the small towns he travels through on his "pilgrimage," but as i'm not those were a little lost on me.)
missoula: rape and the justice system in a college town, by jon krakauer (this is such. an. important. book. and everyone should read it. particularly as i think about my role in helping young men and women get ready for college, the importance of this topic is huge and the book is quite well done. i have so much to say on this topic - how in the past 50 years we have evolved from "she may say no, but she doesn't mean it" to "no means no," which is what i was taught and was revolutionary at the time, to affirmative consent, a phrase that i hadn't even heard two years ago and now we talk about with our students. what i liked about this book was that some of the examples that krakauer gives are so black and white that right and wrong is clear to everyone, i would think. there is a lot of gray in sexual assaults - and he does dwell in that gray for parts of the books - but he also talks about the horrible black and white cases. this is a must read.)
gathering blue, by lois lowry (i've moved some things around on my list to maximize the number of categories i can fill, and this is now my "book about a culture you're unfamiliar with." this is a dystopian young adult novel that i listened to - i don't normally listen to fiction, but young adult fiction is pretty easy to follow - and very much enjoyed. if you liked the giver, you should read this.)
fallen land, by taylor brown (this is my "book set in your home state" - though it takes place in virginia and georgia, too - and is a civil war tragedy that totally captivated me. if you like historical fiction, this is worth picking up.)
beautiful ruins, by jess walter (i read this while traveling, and it is the perfect summer read (a quick read that has some substance)! amazon describes it as "the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later," which is a lot better than whatever the back cover gave as the description - which almost made me not want to read it. it has vivid characters and was a totally enjoyable read.)
the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven, by sherman alexie (i like sherman alexie, but i do not like short stories - no time to get to know the characters before you have to move on to new ones - so this book was fine and all, but i wasn't hurrying to pick it up and read more. read the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian instead.)
whiteout, by ken follett (read this is in the winter - it was an odd book to read in the summer. it's christmas eve! a virus has escaped a lab! then a huge snowstorm hits! characters converge on a remote estate! it's that kind of book and i enjoy that kind of book. different from the other ken follett books i'd read, but i'd recommend it if you like an action-packed plot that is ready-made for the big screen.)
the versions of us, by laura barnett (this was our book club's pick for this month, and it's a sliding doors-type book with three versions in the life of a woman and her husband (in one version)/the guy who got away (in a second version)/a man she meets occasionally but has no relationship with (in a third version). it was a little confusing, keeping the versions separate as i read, and while short chapters kept the plot moving along, i wasn't rushing to finish this one.)
(25 of 40 categories in the challenge filled thus far!)
the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry, by rachel joyce (this is my "book about a road trip" and it was recommended by a friend who is also doing the reading challenge. this was okay, but not transformative. an easy read. if i was from england i think i would have enjoyed the details of all the small towns he travels through on his "pilgrimage," but as i'm not those were a little lost on me.)
missoula: rape and the justice system in a college town, by jon krakauer (this is such. an. important. book. and everyone should read it. particularly as i think about my role in helping young men and women get ready for college, the importance of this topic is huge and the book is quite well done. i have so much to say on this topic - how in the past 50 years we have evolved from "she may say no, but she doesn't mean it" to "no means no," which is what i was taught and was revolutionary at the time, to affirmative consent, a phrase that i hadn't even heard two years ago and now we talk about with our students. what i liked about this book was that some of the examples that krakauer gives are so black and white that right and wrong is clear to everyone, i would think. there is a lot of gray in sexual assaults - and he does dwell in that gray for parts of the books - but he also talks about the horrible black and white cases. this is a must read.)
gathering blue, by lois lowry (i've moved some things around on my list to maximize the number of categories i can fill, and this is now my "book about a culture you're unfamiliar with." this is a dystopian young adult novel that i listened to - i don't normally listen to fiction, but young adult fiction is pretty easy to follow - and very much enjoyed. if you liked the giver, you should read this.)
fallen land, by taylor brown (this is my "book set in your home state" - though it takes place in virginia and georgia, too - and is a civil war tragedy that totally captivated me. if you like historical fiction, this is worth picking up.)
beautiful ruins, by jess walter (i read this while traveling, and it is the perfect summer read (a quick read that has some substance)! amazon describes it as "the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later," which is a lot better than whatever the back cover gave as the description - which almost made me not want to read it. it has vivid characters and was a totally enjoyable read.)
the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven, by sherman alexie (i like sherman alexie, but i do not like short stories - no time to get to know the characters before you have to move on to new ones - so this book was fine and all, but i wasn't hurrying to pick it up and read more. read the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian instead.)
whiteout, by ken follett (read this is in the winter - it was an odd book to read in the summer. it's christmas eve! a virus has escaped a lab! then a huge snowstorm hits! characters converge on a remote estate! it's that kind of book and i enjoy that kind of book. different from the other ken follett books i'd read, but i'd recommend it if you like an action-packed plot that is ready-made for the big screen.)
the versions of us, by laura barnett (this was our book club's pick for this month, and it's a sliding doors-type book with three versions in the life of a woman and her husband (in one version)/the guy who got away (in a second version)/a man she meets occasionally but has no relationship with (in a third version). it was a little confusing, keeping the versions separate as i read, and while short chapters kept the plot moving along, i wasn't rushing to finish this one.)
(25 of 40 categories in the challenge filled thus far!)
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