A seventh grade girl says she loves The Outsiders so much that she left it at school over the weekend so she wouldn't finish it too quickly. I remember having that marvelous feeling when I was her age. Now I am happy just to have the time to read; a sheltering space. The good stories are too numerous.
Billy recently finished The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, by John Vaillant. It is about a man-eating tiger in Russia and a study of the relationship between wild animals and humans. The author has written for The New Yorker, National Geographic, and The Atlantic. Billy said the story line is very exciting.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Books on the Nightstand
Billy recommends the weekly podcast from Books on the Nightstand, a blog written by two folks in the publishing industry about books, bookstores, and the publishing world.
Edip's nightstand is heavy with history books. "I am reading a few books at the moment. The first one is called A New Republic by John Lukacs. It is a very provoking book which analyzes 20th century American history from a socio-cultural perspective. The other two books are The Ancien Regime, a book on French history before the Revolution written by an English scholar, C.B.A. Behrens, and A History of England written by a French scholar, Andre Maurois. These are not your typical history books--they combine historical narrative with broad analyses and fluent styles."
Edip's nightstand is heavy with history books. "I am reading a few books at the moment. The first one is called A New Republic by John Lukacs. It is a very provoking book which analyzes 20th century American history from a socio-cultural perspective. The other two books are The Ancien Regime, a book on French history before the Revolution written by an English scholar, C.B.A. Behrens, and A History of England written by a French scholar, Andre Maurois. These are not your typical history books--they combine historical narrative with broad analyses and fluent styles."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Stream of reading
Look at the beautiful logo for our blog, made by Elaine. To me it illustrates the stream of images, impressions and ideas that we encounter as we are reading. You can put your boat in anywhere and travel as far as you'd like.
Anne Treeger-Huck tells me that she can't put down Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann. The novel opens with an account of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightwire walk between the unfinished towers of the World Trade Center. There is a fantastic children's picture book about Petit called The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein (it won the Caldecott Award for illustration).
Keith is reading Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869, by Stephen Ambrose. Keith says, "It's amazing how they set off to do this thing without much of a real plan--making it up as they went along."
Anne Treeger-Huck tells me that she can't put down Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann. The novel opens with an account of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightwire walk between the unfinished towers of the World Trade Center. There is a fantastic children's picture book about Petit called The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein (it won the Caldecott Award for illustration).
Keith is reading Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869, by Stephen Ambrose. Keith says, "It's amazing how they set off to do this thing without much of a real plan--making it up as they went along."
Monday, October 18, 2010
National Book Award nominees
Joan stopped by and mentioned the recently announced National Book Award nominees. There are some very interesting titles here, maybe your next good read. I am about to begin Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, one of the young adult fiction nominees.
Joan and Sara have weighed in on Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Joan said that despite the initial hype, neither of them were delighted by the book. Joan enjoyed some of the writing and certain scenes (such as the main character's campaign to put special bibs on the neighborhood cats to prevent them from eating birds) but didn't think the story held together well. Anyone else have an opinion? That glittering blue bird's eye on the cover creeps me out.
Joan and Sara have weighed in on Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Joan said that despite the initial hype, neither of them were delighted by the book. Joan enjoyed some of the writing and certain scenes (such as the main character's campaign to put special bibs on the neighborhood cats to prevent them from eating birds) but didn't think the story held together well. Anyone else have an opinion? That glittering blue bird's eye on the cover creeps me out.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
What We Are Reading, Part 3
Mark and Catrina are reading Good Without God, by Greg M. Epstein, the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University.
John is reading Jason Selk's Ten-Minute Toughness: The Mental Training Program for Winning Before the Game Begins.
Tom has been enjoying Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, by T. J. Stiles. Tom comments: "I can only imagine what it was like to live in western Missouri during the Civil War. Missouri was truly a schizo and dangerous place in which to live. Just brutal. A good companion to this book would be Brad Pitt's movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."
Heather is reading Steve Martin's Pure Drivel and Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley.
Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry is Sarah's current read. Amy is reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakimi.
Enjoy your fall break!
John is reading Jason Selk's Ten-Minute Toughness: The Mental Training Program for Winning Before the Game Begins.
Tom has been enjoying Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, by T. J. Stiles. Tom comments: "I can only imagine what it was like to live in western Missouri during the Civil War. Missouri was truly a schizo and dangerous place in which to live. Just brutal. A good companion to this book would be Brad Pitt's movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."
Heather is reading Steve Martin's Pure Drivel and Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley.
Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry is Sarah's current read. Amy is reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakimi.
Enjoy your fall break!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Read it Forward
Andrea from St. Louis Public Library talked to some of our eighth graders today about the "Read it Forward" program. Free copies of Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time and Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee are available at all of the branch libraries. Encourage your teenager to pick one up and share it with a friend. Lisa Yee is an entertaining, humorous speaker and she will be at the Schlfafly Branch, November 10, 6-7 p.m. to talk about creative writing and her books.
What We Are Reading, Part 2
Billy: "I am reading a couple of books right now. One is The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. It's a fascinating and painful narrative non-fiction tale about two men, both named Wes Moore, who travel very different paths: one goes into a life of crime and one becomes hugely successful. The book looks at the series of events that led the two men in very different directions. The other book is called Imperial Reckoning, and it's about the prison camps the British instituted in Kenya during the Mau-Mau Rebellion."
Crossroads staff are enjoying a variety of fiction--Anne Treeger Huck is reading Sarah Conley, by Ellen Gilchrist. Gilchrist won the National Book Award in 1984 with her collection of short stories, Victory Over Japan. Joe's current read is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Steig Larson. Gerry is reading Jane Eyre because his daughter has a solo in the musical version to be staged at Visitation Academy.
Joan and Sara are lugging around Franzen's Freedom. I'd like to hear their impressions when they finish. Franzen was on the cover of Time and the book has gotten a lot of positive attention. Not everyone loves it, though--see the article by B. R. Meyers in the October issue of Atlantic magazine, available at the library ("Smaller Than Life"). Meyers expressed his dislike for some contemporary novel-writing techniques in his 2002 book, A Reader’s Manifesto: An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness of American Literary Prose.
More to come!
Crossroads staff are enjoying a variety of fiction--Anne Treeger Huck is reading Sarah Conley, by Ellen Gilchrist. Gilchrist won the National Book Award in 1984 with her collection of short stories, Victory Over Japan. Joe's current read is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Steig Larson. Gerry is reading Jane Eyre because his daughter has a solo in the musical version to be staged at Visitation Academy.
Joan and Sara are lugging around Franzen's Freedom. I'd like to hear their impressions when they finish. Franzen was on the cover of Time and the book has gotten a lot of positive attention. Not everyone loves it, though--see the article by B. R. Meyers in the October issue of Atlantic magazine, available at the library ("Smaller Than Life"). Meyers expressed his dislike for some contemporary novel-writing techniques in his 2002 book, A Reader’s Manifesto: An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness of American Literary Prose.
More to come!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
8th Grade Book Worms
The self-described book worms in the Research and Reading class have several recommendations:
TaLia likes all of Sharon G. Flake's books, and she is currently reading Bang!
Eugenia enjoys the Drama High series, by L. Divine. Eugenia writes: "Courtin' Jayd is the sixth book and takes place in south central Los Angeles. It is about a teenage girl with the same problems most girls have: boys, money, cars and family. There's one other thing--because of her family's beliefs, Jayd has spiritual powers. I think this is a great book if you like drama. Most teenage girls can relate to this book/series, including myself."
Charlotte read Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. "Everyone in Mica, Arizona is the same. They dress the same. It was weird to be different. Everyone thought that, until Stargirl came. She was completely different from anyone they had ever seen before. She wore long skirts. She played the ukulele. She sang to people on their birthdays. Everyone loved her and she amazed them. Everything seemed perfect. But things changed...people stopped liking her. It started when she cheered for both teams at basketball games. This story is a good mix of drama and comedy and has many plot twists."
Sara reviews Love Stargirl. "In this sequel, Spinelli writes of Stargirl's sadness. Although the sequel seems more realistic, it lacks the happy feel of the first book. The story is written as a series of journal entries to her once love, Leo. Stargirl has moved to Pennsylvania and her 'happy wagon' is nearly empty, one pebble out of twenty. But she begins to meet new people, like a little girl named Dootsie and the Doughnut Lady, a forty year old woman who won't leave the house. Though her first impressions of these people may not have been the best, she doesn't judge them. She only wants to learn about them and be their friends. This is what I loved about the book--Stargirl's admirable care for others. Though she is much less happy in Love, Stargirl, I encourage anyone who liked Stargirl even a little to read this book.
Jasmyne read The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson. "The story takes place in a really rough part of New York city. In Bobby's neighborhood, there is a community center on the corner and on the other end of the street is Mineo's pizza shop, where it always smells good. I believe Angela Johnson portrays the characters realistically because Bobby's life could happen to any teenager around the world. Bobby gets his girlfriend pregnant and he already has another child named Feather. The main idea of the story is how Bobby adjusts to the fact that he is a father and how he is going to raise a child. Luckily, he gets support from his family, specifically his mother. I recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction--I believe it is one of the best books I have read so far."
Merah recommends Best Foot Forward, by Joan Bauer: "Everything is going along just fine at the Gladstone Shoe Store in Jenna's small town until Tanner Cobb comes along. Tanner is a former shoe criminal, but he can't help himself when he sees a really nice pair of tennis shoes at Gladstone Shoes. Mrs. Gladstone decides to punish him by making him work in the back room of her store. Tanner becomes friendlier as he gets to be more familiar with the other employees. And for awhile, everything seems to be going fine, until suspicions are aroused about how the Gladstone Company has their shoes made."
TaLia likes all of Sharon G. Flake's books, and she is currently reading Bang!
Eugenia enjoys the Drama High series, by L. Divine. Eugenia writes: "Courtin' Jayd is the sixth book and takes place in south central Los Angeles. It is about a teenage girl with the same problems most girls have: boys, money, cars and family. There's one other thing--because of her family's beliefs, Jayd has spiritual powers. I think this is a great book if you like drama. Most teenage girls can relate to this book/series, including myself."
Charlotte read Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli. "Everyone in Mica, Arizona is the same. They dress the same. It was weird to be different. Everyone thought that, until Stargirl came. She was completely different from anyone they had ever seen before. She wore long skirts. She played the ukulele. She sang to people on their birthdays. Everyone loved her and she amazed them. Everything seemed perfect. But things changed...people stopped liking her. It started when she cheered for both teams at basketball games. This story is a good mix of drama and comedy and has many plot twists."
Sara reviews Love Stargirl. "In this sequel, Spinelli writes of Stargirl's sadness. Although the sequel seems more realistic, it lacks the happy feel of the first book. The story is written as a series of journal entries to her once love, Leo. Stargirl has moved to Pennsylvania and her 'happy wagon' is nearly empty, one pebble out of twenty. But she begins to meet new people, like a little girl named Dootsie and the Doughnut Lady, a forty year old woman who won't leave the house. Though her first impressions of these people may not have been the best, she doesn't judge them. She only wants to learn about them and be their friends. This is what I loved about the book--Stargirl's admirable care for others. Though she is much less happy in Love, Stargirl, I encourage anyone who liked Stargirl even a little to read this book.
Jasmyne read The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson. "The story takes place in a really rough part of New York city. In Bobby's neighborhood, there is a community center on the corner and on the other end of the street is Mineo's pizza shop, where it always smells good. I believe Angela Johnson portrays the characters realistically because Bobby's life could happen to any teenager around the world. Bobby gets his girlfriend pregnant and he already has another child named Feather. The main idea of the story is how Bobby adjusts to the fact that he is a father and how he is going to raise a child. Luckily, he gets support from his family, specifically his mother. I recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction--I believe it is one of the best books I have read so far."
Merah recommends Best Foot Forward, by Joan Bauer: "Everything is going along just fine at the Gladstone Shoe Store in Jenna's small town until Tanner Cobb comes along. Tanner is a former shoe criminal, but he can't help himself when he sees a really nice pair of tennis shoes at Gladstone Shoes. Mrs. Gladstone decides to punish him by making him work in the back room of her store. Tanner becomes friendlier as he gets to be more familiar with the other employees. And for awhile, everything seems to be going fine, until suspicions are aroused about how the Gladstone Company has their shoes made."
Monday, October 4, 2010
What We Are Reading, Part I
My in box is brimming over with messages from Crossroads staff members about their current reads.
Stay tuned for more!
- Martha is reading Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, in which Mary Roach describes what happens when the human body is subjected to outer space for a year.
- Cliff is on book three of C. S. Lewis' science fiction space trilogy: That Hideous Strength.
- Susan is reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks, the true story of a woman who never knew that her cells were used for all kinds of vital medical research, including the development of the polio vaccine.
Stay tuned for more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)