Most of you know that I went back to work at the beginning of the year … in a bookstore. Yay! The benefit has been an increased to-be-read list of books … but the downfall has been less time to read. However, I am repurposing my time and have committed to more reading. This post that will become a new feature for this blog … and one day I might get smart and learn how to make a button for it. LOL!
So, I debut … The Weekly Reader where I will let you know what I am reading that week.
This first post will be a bit heavy because I do want to write about a few books that I finished up the last couple of weeks in addition to what I am currently reading.
Recently I re-read Jellicoe Road because I wanted to make it my October recommendation at Fiction Addiction (that’s the bookstore where I work) When we recommend a book, we write a two or three sentence blurb for a shelf talker and honestly, I am finding this the most challenging part of my job. I have such a difficulty expressing in just those few sentences what I feel about a book. Now, come into the store and ask me about it and I will talk and talk and talk.
Jellicoe Road is easily one of the best young adult books I have ever read. I am not especially keen for all the paranormal young adult material that is being published right now. This little gem shines in the midst of all that. The main character, Taylor Markham, becomes a reluctant leader in a recurring territorial battle against the Townies and the Cadets. In the midst of this conflict, she discovers clues to her past that reveal who she was, why she was abandoned there on Jellicoe Road and who she is now. It is beautifully written and I found it enthralling and heartbreaking and inspiring.
Speaking of reluctant, I was a reluctant reader of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This was the September read for my book club and I really wasn’t so sure about this pick. Oh, I was pleasantly surprised. Loved this book! I can do no better than to give you my co-workers summary and her blurb as this was her October recommendation for Fiction Addiction. (She is SO much better at this than I am)
After her WWII newspaper columns are wildly successful, writer Juliet Ashton is at a loss as to what to write about next…until she receives a letter from a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which begins new friendships and inspirations as she researches the German occupation on this often overlooked Channel Island. Told in a series of letters, and in turn humorous and somber, this book will appeal to history buffs and idealists alike.
It really was a great read. I didn’t think I would like the story being told in letters but I quickly forgot that it was. I will say that it makes me a bit sad to know we don’t correspond by those hand written letters any longer and I think it has taken some of our slow humor from our communications.
Room by Emma Donoghue is getting a lot of buzz and has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (winner will be announced on October 12). This is a story pulled from the headlines of a woman held captive in a outshed for years and while there, giving birth to a son and how she raised him and was able to provide a creative world for him with unbelievably limited resources. The story is told by Jack, the five year old son giving us a perspective of how we project our own life experience onto the world at large and define it thus. As Jacks mother says, (and i don’t have the book with me so this quote won’t be exact) ‘Everyone has their own prison.”
I went on to read Carry the Rock for my Okra Challenge. This is a non-fiction book about the 2007 football team of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas as the fifty year anniversary of the integration fight. I was hoping for more history when in essence this is a football book. Since I have no knowledge of football and no interest in football, it was very difficult for me to read. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the author, Jay Jennings, who is a former reporter for Sports Illustrated, has presented a well written book, a well researched book. I would have no hesitation in recommending Carry the Rock to a football fan and especially the fan who is also interested in the history of such an iconic location and event.
Right now I am reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for our bookclub’s October read. Following in the steps of my co-worker, I have started reading Pride and Prejudice alongside it. Very interesting comparing and contrasting the two books.
Oh and I am also reading Saavy aloud to whichever children will join me. The only problem with bringing home some of the books I did from the SIBA trade show is that several of them were second or third in a series … or a prequel. So I have had to purchase a few books to start with. Not a bad problem to have though, That is the case with Saavy … I brought home Scumble but everyone wanted read Saavy first.
Ok, that concludes this weeks edition of Weekly Reader. Do you want to play along? Let me know in the comments what you are reading this week. (If you are good at graphics, you can make me a button … or you could tell me how to do a Mr. Linky thing so people can just add their posts to that)
And if you are on twitter, post what you are reading with the hashtag #fridayreads. It’s a great way to share!
Happy Reading!
