Copper-Toed Boots by Marguerite deAngeli

I have been working on reading the deAngeli books for a little while now because I work at the Marguerite deAngeli library and it just seems appropriate to read them. Five days a week I walk past original drawings and a collection of artifacts that includes her Newbery medal. The house she was born in is on a corner that I drive past multiple times a week. Perhaps because of this and because I have spent most of my life living within 20 miles of Lapeer, which is our "city" out this way, I really enjoyed this book.

Copper-Toed Boots is a story of pioneer Lapeer. Like all of deAngeli's stories, it is simple. Shad is just a typical boy. Maybe he gets into trouble a little bit more but most of the time his intentions are good. I say most of the time because there is the incident with the calf in the belfry. A lot of the stories come from tales deAngeli heard growing up. They are rooted in Lapeer history. As fun as it was reading about Shad's adventures, I think I actually had more fun trying to place everything in Lapeer. Where does the Flint River get just deep enough to swim in near Nepessing Street? Where would there be an abandoned mill two or three miles Flint way?

I really did enjoy this book. It was a nice, pleasant read. It was exactly the type of book that I want to share with my children someday.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

After the release of the final movie in July, I decided to re-read all of the Harry Potter books, just like I'm sure everyone else did. I wanted to read them close together which was something that I hadn't done yet. I also hadn't gotten a chance to re-read The Deathly Hallows. These are books, after all, that you seem to take more from the second time around. However, the final volume got pushed to the wayside for a while. It was just too large for me to read it last year. If I had, I wouldn't have made the 100 book goal.

I'm glad that I finally got around to it.

I liked it a lot better this time around. When I first read DH, I felt like the first half of the book was pretty aimless. It dragged on and on and on. It consisted mostly of the boring daily "apparate somewhere random and camp" routine. This time through it didn't feel like it was dragging so much. I started to think about Harry gathering his own trinkets close to him and I was interested in the Dumbledore store too. There may not have been a lot of action but there was a lot to think about. Anyway, the last part more than makes up for it.

It's funny, really. I can tell you exactly what parts brought me to tears the first time I read it and this time it was completely different. Have I changed or do I just have a different outlook now that I know how it ends?

All in all, I would say that I am happy with Rowling's conclusion. I even got a little teary eyed in the last little epilogue chapter. There was a way that things HAD to happen and I think that Rowling managed to dance around that pretty well. I'm glad I made the time to go back to this book.

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve

This was a WONDERFUL book. I can't stress that enough. It was fun and exciting and magical and just plain wonderful. Not bad for a book I picked out purely because the cover had pretty colors.

Polly lives on her family's rhubarb farm. Only, their farm is not like others. It's magical. They grow regular rhubarb and giant rhubarb and chocolate rhubarb. The children live in a castle. Polly's best friend is a plant. Also, it rains every Monday afternoon at 1.

Until it doesn't rain. That's when things get scary.

Suddenly, Polly sees her world falling apart. The plants are dying, her brother is sick, and her aunt wants to sell the farm. Polly believes in magic and she is sure that the world will be right again but how? Slowly, she uncovers clue after clue to her family's secrets. Then all she has to do is figure out how to make it rain.

This was the kind of book that you want to read and read and read again. I loved every minute of it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

And so we are back to the Harry Potter again. Book five dragged on and on so long that I was a bit hesitant about actually sitting down and reading Half Blood Prince instead of breaking it up. However, soon after I started reading I decided that this is possibly my favorite HP book.

You see, I picked it up with some relief. Harry seems to be a bit out of his pubescent emo cry baby stage. He doesn't seem to yell as much, which is a huge improvement. I spent half of the last book not knowing if I would rather throttle Harry or Umbridge. Umbridge made me angry. Harry annoyed me. Harry starts to regain some of his control in book five and he seems a bit more like himself. He is, obviously, sad about the loss of his godfather but he has a lot going on. First, he now knows the prophecy and what is expected of him. Second, he is going to have double lessons with Dumbledor. Third, he is now Quidditch captain.

There are a lot of fun parts in this book, just as many as there are serious parts. I love watching Ron and Hermione's relationship growing and changing. This is like the perfect teenage book, just more innocent. And I feel like we learn a lot about a lot of characters. One of my favorites dies but it had to happen which makes it easier to accept. Even Harry accepts it.

Like I said, possibly my favorite in the series.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

It took me so long to get through this book. I couldn't get into it so I started reading in 100 page sprints between other books and that helped for a while but it's so long that it started to feel like I'd never finish. Sunday I took out this and the final two Harry Potter's, stacked them on the table, and told Matt that I would finish them by next Sunday. I won't but it's the thought that counts.

The debate is whether or not this is an AWESOME book or a tedious one. A lot of important things happen in this book and it certainly does make you feel a lot of emotions. However, I find this to be the hardest HP book to get through for two reasons. The first is that Harry is going through puberty and we are aware of this because he spends most of the book being a big cry baby or an enormous jerk. His moods are vile. The second is that Umbrige is just as vile and frustrating. It's easy to spend a bulk of this book grinding your teeth.

I'm not saying that this book isn't without its moments. Fred and George alone make it worth the read. Plus, the death at the end is enough to bring tears to your eyes. I came across that scene while sitting in my car at a park and did my best to choke back the tears in an attempt to not be a COMPLETE weirdo.

I guess that the conclusion I've come to is that this book is important to the story and worth reading but also endlessly frustrating. Ha ha.

This is book 69 or 70. Egads. So much left to read!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

I am finally caught up! I just finished this one this morning. It took me soooooo long that I actually caught up on my blogging. Keeping caught up, now that's the real trick.

The frustrating thing about re-reading is that sometimes you just kind of... completely lose interest. Indeed, a number of times while I was reading this I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up. It's a huge book. Usually I can trick myself by saying, "10 pages is 10 pages and that's something. At least I'll see my bookmark move." That didn't work this time. 10 pages is not enough to move the bookmark in this beast.

It's a wonderful book, really, and under normal circumstances, I love it. This is the book where Harry and Ron are just starting to really become teenage boys. They are starting to get moody and notice girls. The cool part about this book is seeing how the different countries interact with eachother. There is the surprising discovery that Hogwarts is NOT the only wizarding school. Suddenly, the Ministry of Magic seems a lot larger. And, finally, we get a glimpse into what it was like during and directly after Voldemort.

I once heard a DJ on a local rock station talking about reading the HP books. His associate was ripping on him hardcore and he said that HP was cool because the first three books are pretty cute a kiddish but the fourth book suddenly gets darker. I agree. This is THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGES and it's very well done.

I think my problem is that I keep seeing my huge pile of books. Sigh.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

And so we go even deeper into my reading of Harry Potter.

This is another book that I remember not being too thrilled with. I think that I may be confusing the book with the movie and I heard so many bad things about the movie before I saw it that I can't even promise you those were my opinions. Isn't that sad? I really wish that I could go back and read these books for the first time again. I wish that every turn was a surprise. While I read, I sometimes wonder what it was like back then, how I felt the first time.

This reading, though, went so quickly and was so engrossing. I loved it. I love Professor Lupin so much that it was good to see him again. I like that the danger here doesn't feel like it is Lord Voldemort, again. This book just feels like a breath of fresh air in the series. In the two previous books, we are really just getting a feel for the world Rowling has created. In the next book, Harry starts to get a bit whiny and pubescent. This is the perfect island of reading.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

The second book in the Harry Potter series was always the hardest for me to get through. I don't know why because I really really enjoyed it this time. It was like I got sucked into the story like I used to.

In this adventure, Harry is entering his second year at Hogwarts. His summer is less miserable than living with the Dursley's has been previously. Now they think he can use magic outside of school. However, when a house elf shows up there is chaos and Harry is sent a letter that gives away his secret. Locked in his room, he is eventually saved by Fred, George, and Ron in a flying car.

The action continues through the school year. Someone is releasing a monster on the non-pure blood wizards. Can Harry and his friends find out who it is before someone is killed instead of just petrified?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I know for a fact that I am not the only person who saw the last Harry Potter movie in July and HAD to first reread the books and then watch all of the movies. I am not done reading the books yet. Despite the fact that they are children's books, the later ones are long and there is a lot of detail and I spend a lot of time on them. I like being sucked into the world and I still believe that Hogwarts DOES exist.

I wish that I were reading these again for the first time. When I was 16, I was working at the library and EVERYONE told me that I just HAD to read the Harry Potter books. One of my friends at school was so excited about them that she kept insisting I read them as well. This is not the way to get me to read something. However, one particularly quiet night, I believe it was winter, I pulled this first book off the shelf and hid in a corner with it. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.

Book one is all about discovering the world. Rowling is introducing us to the wizarding world at the same time that Harry is being introduced to it and the way she writes it makes you feel that it is REAL. It really is the wand that picks the wizard. Owls really do carry the mail. Unicorn blood is OF COURSE silvery.

If you haven't read HP (the rock you live under must be much larger than mine), do give them a chance. They are fast and fun and so completely engrossing that you'll be waiting for your letter to Hogwarts too!

*As a side note, while I was reading this I picked up a sick in the yard and told my boyfriend that it was my wand. He took it from me and said, "Maple, 9 inches, foxtail." lol. It was perfect!

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Something interesting happened when I read this book. One day, exasperated with how much I disliked it, I asked a room full of kids if they had read it. About 8 hands went up. When I asked what everyone thought about it, all of the girls told me it was boring and they hated it but all of the boys told me that it was so good that I needed to read the rest of the Brian books then they bombarded me with "Have you gotten to the part where..."

I didn't like this book. Plain and simple. It was well written and a pretty quick read but it isn't my style. It is a book for boys and I'll just leave it at that. I did finish it by flashlight while my boyfriend fished, though, and that seems pretty appropriate.

Brian is on his way to the forests of Canada to visit his father who is working there. Brian's parents are recently divorced and he is carrying a secret. The secret is that his mother had an affair and he saw her with another man. While Brian is in the small plane, that is what he is thinking about. Then, his pilot has a heart attack and dies and everything changes.

This is a downright courageous tale of freedom but sometimes it lost me. Brian just had too much information stored in his brain and too many things felt unbelievable to me. Boys will love it, though.

Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt

I discovered this book on a list of books written in verse for young adults. (This is a shameless attempt to make 100 books this year but I have very little pride and you can't judge me. lol) As a fan of the Misfits, the title struck a chord with me. ("Brains for dinner. Brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast. Brains for brunch!") It was described as a novel about zombies told completely in haiku. How could I not be excited for this book?

I was sadly disappointed.

I was expecting this to be cool. I wanted it to be funny and a little gruesome and aimed at high schoolers, not middle schoolers. The story was too cute. The humor was too cute. The ending was too neat and happy.

It only took me about a half hour to read so if you're curious go for it but I wouldn't waste my time.

March 2011

Books Read:
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Hector and the Search for Happiness by Fancois Lelord
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby
Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
The Alchemist: Graphic Novel by Paulo Coelho

You caught me...

I have been mixing in some childrens books just to boost my numbers. Well, not just to boost my numbers. I've enjoyed reading them and all. I've been meaning to read them. Actually, the big debate this month came when Matt told me that I couldn't count a book of poetry as a book read. I totally count it if I've read it cover to cover. I read the final three Winne the Pooh books cover to cover. Most of the poetry was even read aloud, as it should be and much to the cats' delight. I also slipped in a graphic novel but it was The Alchemist and it was very deep and well worth it.

I spent a lot of time on Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres and part of the problem was that it was too close to home. The actual content of the story wasn't but he vast farms and the pretty much the entire setting reminded me of my hometown, which I have never left. It was easy to get caught up in the descriptions of farm life because they were the same things that I heard every day in class. Basically, it was the kind of book that I get caught up in and take, thus, take my time with. However, it was a bit predictable. It's literature, after all. It was easy for me to guess what was going on, or what had gone on as it were.

The shining star of this month, for sure, was Hector and the Search for Happiness. I read reviews of this book and then I came across it in Target and it was the perfect little paperback. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I ordered it through the library and there is was! The same little paperback, perfectly shaped! It was worth the effort. I could not put this book down. Hector is a psychiatrist and he notices that more and more people who should be happy aren't. He decides to travel the world and learn about happiness. He goes to China, a violent African country, and The Country of More. (That's us! We have more psychiatrists AND we are more unhappy!) Hector learns a lot about happiness and I really enjoyed the ride.

I was impressed with all of the reading I got done this month until I started writing this. Now I feel a bit deflated. Next month doesn't look like it's going to be much better. I've joined a book club and the first selection isn't something that I am really looking forward to. I'll try it but I will invoke my reader's rights if I have to: The right not to read.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

One of my best friends was a page with me at the library when I was 16. This was her favorite book. Everytime I have come across it in the past decade I've thought of Liz and smiled. I have always meant to read it but, as previously discussed, there has always been a large number of books that I have meant to read. Neither fantasy nor scifi have ever been my bag and this book falls right in the middle of these categories. Then it came up on a list I'm working on (20 Books Every Teenager Should Read) and it finally got its chance.

L'Engle is popular for a reason, that is for sure! Her writing has a wonderful quality to it. I was easily sucked into the story.

A Wrinkle in Time is the story of Meg Murry, a plain girl who is outshined by the geniuses in her family. Her mother is a biologist. Her father is an astrophysicist. Charles Wallace, her little brother, is a super genius who has a keen understanding of, well, everything. All that Meg has going for her is a list of faults from being angry to being stubborn.

Mr. Murry has been gone for a long time. He was working for the government when his letters suddenly stopped. Mrs. Murry has hidden her feelings from her children very well and continues to care for them by herself. Charles Wallace is the one who discovers the three women in the abandoned house in the woods, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit. The Mrs. W's take the children, including a new friend named Calvin, through a wrinkle in time and send them on a terrifying mission to save their father from The Dark Thing.

The characters and situations here are so extraordinary but so wonderful that I don't think I will ever be able to imagine the world without this story.