A Reading Diary

I never expected this to become a diary of what I have been reading this summer, but it needs to be something I guess, so here it is . . .



I have been working on reading books off of the NC Battle of the Books list - a competition for middle school students who read specific books and then go through quiz bowl like competitions answering questions about the books. The NC School Library Media Association sponsors this competition, and it gets kids reading.



I have read several this summer and am getting ready to head over to my library to pick up two or three for a trip Brent and I leave on tomorrow. The last one I read was The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (pronounced foon-kay). It was okay. I much prefer her Inkspell series - of which there are currently two with a third in the works.

I also read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. That was an excellent book - a really quick read - and there are more in the series -

Have to admit - I am a sucker for a series -

First Among Sequels

If you have never heard of Thursday Next or her books, you really should try out the first one, The Eyre Affair. You really have to love reading and literature to appreciate some of the finer points of these books, but if you are just interested in something light and goofy, you can get that in these books as well.

I just finished First Among Sequels, and I loved it, because I love the idea of being able to jump between books and into plots and meeting characters and stuff like that. The whole premise is wonderful. And then there are gun fights, time travel, supernaturals, and loads more.

What is really great is that Jasper Fforde, the author, has set himself up, and Thursday as well, to be very busy for awhile with other sequels. And as silly as they get I don't think I will ever tire of them.

So, today's suggestion for something to read as the summer picks up speed to burn us up with a hot August - read Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair.

And so it ends . . .

I finished the last Harry Potter in less than 24 hours. I couldn't resist the urge to drive to Wal-Mart for a discount copy at 12:01. So there I was shopping with all of the other HP fans, and then drove home to stay up two more hours reading the book before being reminded by my husband that we were supposed to be getting up early on Saturday to drive to the in-laws (who I would really like to thank for -if not understanding - accepting that I had to finish that book before any spoiler got to me).

Loved it. Really wished there could have been more to the Dumbledore family story-line, but it is Harry's book.

My husband kids me, especially when I am talking with friends about the book, that Harry isn't a real person, and I know he isn't, but still, I swear I am going to miss him, and Hermoine, and Ron, and all the rest of those characters.

I did appreciate the epilogue, but wish we could have learned more about what they are all doing as adults. I distinctly remember Rowling saying she would never write about Harry working in an office or somewhere, and I can totally respect that, but I would LOVE to know what Ron and Hermoine ended up doing. At least we did learn that Neville got a job at Hogwart's - too cool.

So now, I am moving on to another series - The Thursday Next books. Very interesting group of books, especially if you love literature.

So, let me go try to read some of her exploits -

Harry Potter

I know, I know, most people would think that I am way too old to be interested in Harry Potter as much as I am, but I am, I admit it, so there.

Just finished re-reading number five and number six, Five to get ready for the new movie, and Six to get ready for - I can't say it - I find it hard to type it - the end of the Harry Potter series - yes, folks, it actually does make me sad to know that she is going to stop writing about Harry after this last book. What makes me even sadder is wondering if she is going to kill him off in this last book - there are rumors -

The funniest thing is that I read an article in People magazine (yes, I actually bought a copy of that totally trashy magazine - love the picture of Matthew McConaughey on the cover so how could I resist?) about the last Harry Potter book and how to help your children deal with his death - that is - if he dies - and when I first read the title of the article, I laughed - how absolutely absurd - helping your child deal with the death of a fictional character - and then I thought - Oh NO - Harry Potter can't die - that would be absolutely terrible -

So now I wonder if she is going to "knock him off." I hope not - It would be sad - Harry Potter has become a part of our lives I guess. When I am reading his books, I feel like I am there, we are friends, I really become a part of the story. Like when she killed Dumbledore - and I know SNAPE killed Dumbledore - but did he really - well, when Dumbledore died, I cried. When I reread the first book, I cried when Hagrid showed up at the shack on the rock in the middle of the night and told Harry that he was a wizard - because I was so happy for Harry.

So I am looking forward to the new book. I hope it starts off lightly at Bill and Fleur's wedding - something nice and light to get us going.

And I absolutely cannot wait for the movie - that Umbridge woman really was heinous, wasn't she?

So, I am off, to find something new to read - peace out - :-)

Another good book I just finished

Great book - The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor - excellent. And a nice twist on the Alice in Wonderland story. Supposedly a trilogy, so I'm hooked. Will probably by the next two as well.

Also just finished another Artemis Fowl book. God bless Young Adult Literature -

So much for New Year's Resolutions

Yeah - right - so what if it's been five months since I have been here to fill the world in on the goings on here. :-) At least I managed to remember my password and log in - after several failed attempts.

So, will try to become a little more regular.

Wish me luck.

Worth Reading

I finished a book yesterday - a fabulous book - about reducing your personal consumption. It's called Not Buying It - My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. I really enjoyed it, and actually took a few notes - or rather - jotted down a few things that I want to write here - so KNOW that these are from her book, and Judith Levine gets all credit for the following . . .

when talking about our generation - "whose soundtrack is television"

when describing herself - a "counterculturalist to the culture of the counter"

other things to think about or look up later - ecological footprint,
Voluntary Simplicity, Radical Simplicity by Jim Merkel

Of course I didn't BUY the book - I checked it our from our local library - something she learns a lot about during her year of abstinence - something I am particularly proud of as a librarian myself.

So here's a link to Amazon where you can purchase it yourself - or visit your local library like I did.

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Buying-Year-Without-Shopping/dp/0743269357/sr=8-1/qid=1167882107/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9290350-9020712?ie=UTF8&s=books

And coming soon - pictures of Pete with his pre-New Year's Eve haircut.