Reading challenge(s) updates

I'm taking part in 3 reading challenges this year. My favorite so far was the Keyword Reading Challenge. Unfortunately, the blogger who was hosting the challenge decided to take her website down. Fortunately, I cut and pasted the prompts when I blogged about it in January. So, super excited that I'm continuing on my own. For this challenge, you were supposed to read a book with one of the keywords of the month in the title. I have completed 10/12 books! Go me.

Goodreads challenge- My goal for the year is50 books. I'm up to 42 so far.

My Mount TBR Challenge is that- out of the 50 books I read, I would like at least 24 of them to be out of the stack of books I've been hoarding saving for a later time. So far I am up to 21 out of 24. So, I'm generally happy with all of my challenges for far. This is the latest book I read:

 

    This book is about boy named Eric who is looking forward to spending his summer at a lakeside "cottage." His family ends up renting a giant home called Pinecrest, which once believed to a former dr. at a mental hospital who has been missing for a few years. While exploring with his 2 friends, Eric discovers a hidden room in the carriage house of the property and strange things begin to happen with the boys as well as within the town. If you like thrillers, this has a pretty good story but I was disappointed that some things were kind of left hanging. With that being said, I read at my dr's appointments and at night and I finished it in a couple of days. 

Reading in August

Now that school has begun again, I have found less free time to update the blog. You know how sometimes when you have to do 1 thing (like update my reading- in the order I've read it because I'm OCD like that?) and you don't, it prevents you from doing other related tasks? Well, that's me right now. So, I have a little time to dedicate today. Here goes. Here are my most recently read books and what I thought:

 

     "The Mapmaker's Daughter" by Katherine Nouri Hughes, courtesy of NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media. This is a work of Historical Fiction. It is set in the 16th century and tells of the life of Nurbanu, wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, The story jumps back and forth between Nurbanu, on her deathbed, telling her life story and different episodes in her life. (Apparently there is, or will be, a television series about her that has come out recently or will be coming out soon. Since I don't watch a lot of tv, this doesn't mean a lot to me.) 

      This book was interesting but I just couldn't get into it. Many of the names of the sultan's family are very close (or even the same, if they were named after another relative). I found myself getting confused about who I was reading about and what time that part of the story was taking place. I will say that there was a guide to who the people were but I found that I didn't really check with that since I was reading a digital copy. If I had a paper copy, I think I would've frequently been flipping back to that page and maybe it would've helped. 

      If you are interested in the Ottoman Empire and have some experience with some of the events of this time period, you may really like this book. I just don't have much background information about those times and places and didn't find myself as interested as I thought I would. 

 

"Love and Other Consolation Prizes" by Jamie Ford- another book courtesy of NetGalley and Ballantine Books. I really liked this one. It's about a Chinese boy who was sold by his mother and brought to the United States. This is another book that switches between the present and the past. In the present time, Ernest's daughter has discovered that there was once a child who was raffled off at the World's Fair, 50 years ago. After some investigating, she thinks that this child may have been her father. She approaches him and asks him if she has permission to tell his story in an article.   The story in the past talks about his journey and experiences from China to the US, his time before the fair and the high class brothel he ends up at after the raffle.  I don't want to spoil any of this book (but if you had any specific questions, I would be willing to answer them privately.) This book was just released in the US on 9/12. Go get yourself a copy.

     This is another book I read with David over the summer. It's a Massachusetts Children's Book Award winner. This book is listed as a 4th grade level, but I felt the subject matter was pretty heavy. My kids are pretty innocent and possibly a bit naive, so I was a little surprised to be reading something that seemed so raw emotionally to one of them. Ada is a young girl, who was born with a clubfoot, growing up with her younger brother and her mom in a 1 room apartment. The relationship between Ada and her mom is bad. Ada has not been taken care of medically or emotionally and that is pretty firmly established right away. (It was the first time I've seen my  son genuinely sad for a character while reading a book.) 

    When war threatens London, Ada's younger brother is going to be sent to the countryside to avoid the bombs. The mother hadn't really thought to send Ada too. Ada overcomes quite a few challenges and basically sneaks out with her brother. The evacuees get sent to the countryside and chosen by all of the volunteers; all except Ada and Jamie. They are brought to a woman named Susan Smith, who hadn't been planning on taking in any children. As the story progresses, you learn how the war has affected the community, see relationships develop and begin to see Ada discover her own strength and worth. What happens when mom comes back into the picture? You're going to have to read it to find out.

      It is a very powerful book. Although there were parts that David was obviously upset by, it was a redemptive book and we both enjoyed it quite a bit. There is a second book, The War I Finally Won, that is coming out in October. (I applied for it on NetGalley. I hope we are chosen to review it). David and I are both looking forward to reading what happens next for each character. 

 

 This is a book that I began reading in March of last year and apparently put down for some reason. It relays the story of Michael Morton, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife in 1986. After serving 25 years prison, DNA testing proved his innocence. I appreciated the honesty of the author. Many of his emotions- his feelings when he realized his son didn't really remember the times that he lived at home, how it's easy to become hardened in prison, the struggle to keep hope when everything seems against you, how positive words can breathe life into someone, the curiosity of driving down the highway after not being outside for years, what you appreciate when you really pay attention to your senses when your freedom is not compromised. This is not a topic I regularly read about and it has made me more likely to read more books that are similar.

 

You're almost there. Told you I'd been reading a lot. 

  "As You Wish" is another ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks. It's about a town in Nevada where everybody in the town gets granted 1 wish on their 18th birthday. Some people wish for love, some money, others popularity or beauty.  The lead character, a boy named Eldon is stumped about what he should wish for. He has tons of ideas of what would be helpful to wish for- possibly money for his family or a solution for his sister Ebba who is brain-dead after being hit by a car. The problem is that he has observed how wishing has ruined the lives of many of the people he knows. With a little help from his friends and his principal, he examines some of the previous wishes that have been made in town and makes his decision. 

      I liked this book. It was creative and I liked Eldon. (He reminded me of some of my students.) This book will be released in January of 2018.

A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandra Petri

   

      Although I am not most original person in the world, I really appreciate how odd and quirky some people are. Maybe this is one of the reasons I became a middle school teacher? I can handle and appreciate awkward sometimes; most times in fact.  This book made me laugh a lot. This is a collection of essays written by Alexandra Petri- whom I think I would have a lot of laughs with. (Provably with me smiling and laughing while not being brave enough to go along with her weirdness- or vice versa.)
       Occasionally, when someone finds out that I penpal, they will say something like, "Oh, you penpal? Like in writing letters with paper and stuff? That's weird cool." Then they run. Ha ha. No, they just smile and look at me strangely. I think Petri has gotten that look many times too. The book tells many awkward moments or times that she has just realized that things were different for her than for some other people. I enjoyed reading her adventures. (Timmy REALLY enjoyed some of her puns.)
   I would recommend this to anyone who might want a laugh. Definitely some great nerd material in there too- Jeopardy, Star Wars, puns, etc. 
     This book was also great for my reading challenges- It was in my to be read pile and the Monthly Keyword for March (Sillence).

Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes

 

   Well, I have found the first book of the year that I didn't like.  Why didn't I like it? Here are a few reasons:

1) The murder in the book happens in the first chapter. I found that I still didn't care who the murderer was by about 200 pages in. I think I need some more of an emotional investment in the victim.

2) I wasn't too invested in any of the characters. 

3) Maybe I'm just not up to date with my British names/vocabulary? 

  

    There was just something about this book I could not get into. Originally, I wondered if it might have been because the book was the 2nd book in a series, but the book didn't seem to reference too much about any previous cases.

     This book also fulfilled another book for the February Keyword Reading Challenge (Deception). Up Next: A Field Guide to Awkward Silences (Silence) by Alexandra Petri

Reading Challenges:

Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge: 2/12

Goodreads Challenge-11 /50

Mount TBR- 7/24

Netgalley Review Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal'd by Mary Losure

   

  

    Mary Losure writes non-fiction for children. When I saw this book on NetGalley, I thought that it might be something that Timmy might enjoy too. I was happy when I was chosen to review it. (I might try to get Timothy to review it as well so they can get an idea of what the "target audience" thinks.) 

      Other than Newtonian physics, I didn't know too much about Isaac Newton. This book talks about some of his laws of physics, but mostly discusses his role as an alchemist. There are a few things that I really enjoyed about the book. The first was that it gives a lot of information about what Isaac was like as a person. As a music teacher, there are many times that I notice that my students have an idea about who famous composers are, or what they did, but they do not really have any idea how these people fit into "the big picture" historically. These composers just seem like facts in a book rather than people. It was nice to for me to hear about Isaac's quirks and personality traits, as well information about his family and living conditions. Ms. Losure also explains some of the concepts that were known/unknown in the time period that Newton was living in (Ex. how a prism works- what Newton discovered vs. what was thought at the time or how planets moved through space)

     Another thing I enjoyed was that it was a quick, easy, entertaining read. I wondered if Tim would understand some of the more technical information, like some of the symbols used in Alchemy, but there were definitely science-related things that he will find very interesting, like the information on simple machines. Towards the end of the book, the author tells how some of the discoveries made by Newton have been used in other scientific successes (like sending a rocket into space).  Ms. Losure also wrote a few blurbs that kind of challenged kids to come up with their own discoveries and inquiries.  I also enjoyed her mention of some of the interesting resources she used and the supplemental material at the end of the book. 

     I would recommend this to children who like biographies and science. I will ask Tim to give his opinion here on the blog when he is finished with the book. Thanks to Candlewick Press for the digital copy.

Ensnared by Rita Stradling

   The only positive thing about being stuck at home with the flu has been the ability to read a lot. My latest conquest is Ensnared by Rita Stradling. I received my ARC from NetGalley.  This is the cover that my digital copy had, but Ms. Stradling also has another cover option on her webpage. I REALLY like this one though. It immediately caught my attention on NetGalley and when I read that Ensnared was a modern telling of Beauty and the Beast, it appealed to me more.  Since we're doing Beauty and the Beast, Jr. for our school musical,I my interest was piqued and I requested it.

 

Ensnared is about a woman named Alainn Murphy whose father, Connor Murphy, has been commissioned to create a robot for the rich recluse, Lorccan Garbhan. Connor's robot, Rose, has been designed to be as human as possible but it seems like there are still a few issues that need to be worked out before his deadline to Lorccan. After asking for an extension of time, and being denied, Alainn agrees to temporarily switch places with Rose (who was designed to look like Alainn) until repairs could be completed. Unfortunately, she is unsure what Rose's purpose is at the Garbhan household. 

    Although it was pretty different than what I originally expected, I thought that the concept was pretty interesting. Alainn discovers that she is the only human in the house other than Lorccan, but there are plenty of other robots. The book brought up some ethical questions about AI and human interaction with automatons.Be forewarned- there are a few "steamy" sections in this book. I thought about recommending this book to some of my students and then realized that that wouldn't be the best idea.. lol. There are a few characters/questions I would've liked to have seen developed more, but overall, it was a quick read that I enjoyed. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. 

Goodreads Challenge- 8/50

Sparks and Shadows by Kendrick von Schiller

 

     I won this autographed book from Goodreads a while back.(In addition to that, the author was super sweet and included a little note to me in the package.) This beautiful cover has been calling to me from my "to be read" shelf for a while. I wasn't sure what I would think of the book since I don't really read too much fantasy. I really enjoyed it.

    Sparks and Shadows is about a girl, Fura Feier, who finds herself homeless after an explosion takes the life of her family. She is taken in by Apallo and a group of people she works with at a local Renaissance festival, she finds herself in a whole new world- literally.  She finds herself questioning where she belongs and who she really is as she finds herself on the run with Kiyani, a man who is many ways her opposite, but seemingly her only "friend." She discovers that the tale of the Sect of Seven, telling of 7 lords of elemental magic who rule the world together in harmony, has been thrown out of balance when the Nyte Fyre prophecy, declaring that one will rule over all seems to be beginning.

     I liked this book a lot. I really enjoyed the world of Izandüre. As a person who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I enjoyed the creativity of each realm and letting my imagination picture each place.  There were a few interactions between Kiyani and Fura that got a little repetitive, but I think that those recurrences helped develop some character traits of both.  There were also a few characters I would've liked to learn more about, like Rhyne, but I'm wondering if I will see more of him in book 2.  I would like to read the second book of this series when it comes out. Thanks for the giveaway.

Reading Challenge Updates:

Keyword Reading Challenge: 2/12

Mount TBR: 5/24

Goodreads Challenge: 7/50

    

Resolved by Lina Abujamra

 

     I just finished reading Resolved by Lina Abujamra.I received a copy of this book through Goodreads via Baker Publishing Group.  This book asks readers to examine their resolve in living out their faith. Abujamra challenges Christians to resolve to 10 things in order to grow closer in their relationship with Jesus.  These include: Believe Then It Looks Ridiculous, Love When It's Inconvenient, Obey When It's Not Popular, Yield When It's My Right, Speak Up When It's Easier Not To, Give When I Barely Have Enough, Be in Community When I'd Rather Be Alone, have Joy When Life is Depressing, Hope When it Hurts, and Rest in the Midst of Chaos.

     There were some things in this book that I thought were really simply said but there were also some good reminders, thinking points and nice challenges.  I thought it might be a great book for new believers, but I wonder if they might feel a little lost with some of the Bible references. 

     One thing I appreciated about this book was Abujamra's application of living her faith. As an ER doctor, she often relates some of these points to her job. It is nice to see some real world application of her points and examples. There are many times where I have learned about my faith through interactions with people in my profession, so I appreciated hearing her experiences. 

Reading Challenge Updates:

Keyword Reading Challenge: 1/12 (2 books in the first month, but 1 out of 12 months is completed)

Mount TBR: 4/24

Goodreads Challenge: 6/50

2017 Reading Challenges

     I have decided on the reading challenges that I'm going to take part in next year. I'm going to do a few of them.


1. Keyword Reading Challenge hosted by My Soul Called Life     

 

 For this challenge, I need to read at least 1 book per month with the following words in the title:

---

Here Are Your 2017 Keywords 

JAN- Court, Fall, Of, Way, Deep, Thousand
FEB- And, Rose, Promise, Every, Deception, Blazing
MAR- Shall, Go, By, Silence, Her, Saga
APR- From, Trigger, Tale, His, Crown, Mist

MAY- Four, Wind, All, Fury, Days, Shade
JUN- Without, Know, Good, Watch, One, Have
JUL- Before, Final, All, Freedom, Life, Dream
AUG- Sun, Infinite, Big, My, Wherever, Most

SEP- Sand, From, Between, Ever, Reasons, Clash
OCT- Darker, You, Ashes, Out, House, Sea
NOV- Place, War, Heart, Why, Give, Meet
DEC- Forget, Twilight, Only, Crystal, On, Will

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    This will definitely make me choose my books from my to-be-read pile rather than randomly pick one. (I'm a little OCD about this. I have my quirky methods, which is why my books are always so random. Matt has made fun of me for years about this.)

2. Mount TBR Reading Challenge hosted by MY READER'S BLOCK

My personal goal is: Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s

   In this challenge, I am supposed to choose books from my "To be read" pile, which is currently a bookshelf... plus a really tall pile on my bedroom floor. I would estimate that I have 100 books in there currently. I think 24 is a noble number considering I'm going to be tackling a few challenges at once. 

 

3. My personal Goodreads challenge will be to read 50 books over the course of the year.