October Reading Update!
October has come and gone. LOTS of activities this month plus LOTS of reading! I am happy to say that I have only FOUR more books to read to complete my 2015 Reading Challenge! I'm very proud of myself for approaching my goal and possibly exceeding it! The thing with Goodreads is that I logged every book I read - including some really short, silly, and easy reads, such as The Book With No Pictures, Tommysaurus Rex (a graphic novel I finished in 30 minutes), and a book about the 7 habits for kids, among others. I didn't count any of these shorter ones for my personal reading challenge, where I am reading specific types of books.
Here is my update for that challenge:
Read a Book published the year you were born ~ 10-4-15: Chronicle of a Death Foretold - I really enjoyed reading this book. It was basically about the death of one person and how so many people from his town knew it was going to happen but did nothing to prevent it. You see the whole day of his death from all these different perspectives. I wouldn't mind reading more books by this author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitute, for example)
Read a Banned Book ~ 10-11-15: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - This is the second banned book I've read for this challenge. The first was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. But I only recently found out this book was banned and my friend Megan had recommended it to me over the summer and when I found out it was banned, I just had to know why! The story is incredible. It is about a boy growing up on a reservation near Spokane, WA. One day he decides he is done going to school on the res and applies to go to a school off the reservation in a mostly white (hick) town. He is bullied at first but stands his ground and comes out being one of the most popular kids at his school. He struggles with ditching his best friend on the res and has to confront him through basketball tournaments between his school and the school on the res. He also has to struggle with the stigma that follows him around the res being that he's the only one who has left the res. Lots of family conflict, deaths, and drama. I could tell right away why it was banned as this young boy makes almost immediate reference to the fact that he does the big M regularly and the words "homo" and "faggot" are tossed around without care. Otherwise, a very moving story and I would still recommend it to adults and perhaps high school kids too.
Read a Nonfiction Book ~ 10-17-15: The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family - I have been reading this book since January with the Children's Ministry group at my church. We've been reading a few chapters a month and discussing them at our meetings. This is a really great book with lots of tips for families on how to help your child's faith stick. The focus is mostly on older kids and especially tweens and teenagers since that is when their faith can really be challenged. Even though Audrey is still little, there are some good ideas to set a foundation for raising her in faith. I'm sure I will return to this book many times in the course of parenthood for reminders and tips!
Read a Book that is Over 100 Years Old ~ 10-26-15: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ - This is the book I am most excited about. I started reading this at the beginning of the month and then Audrey saw it and started looking at the pictures. She asked me about the little girl and the different characters so I asked her if she'd like to read this book with me. She agreed and we proceeded to read 1 - 2 chapters a night during her bedtime routine. I also read her chapters if she asked on the weekends. (This girl LOVES to read!) I was amazed at how much Audrey retained! We just watched the Hollywood adaptation of the book yesterday and she mentioned several times some of the differences. For example, Kansas is just one chapter in the book. In the movie, it's at least the first 30 minutes. In the book, the shoes are silver but in the movie, they are ruby slippers. One different Audrey noticed was that in the book, when Dorothy met each of her traveling companions, they would tell a story about how they came to be. Audrey asked, "When is he going to tell his story?" while we watched the movie. She soon found, they didn't tell their story but rather sang a song about how much they wanted their gift from the Wizard. Also, the Wicked Witch of the West was only one chapter in the book - we meet her and then she's melted. Obviously, we see a whole lot more of her in the movie. Lastly, after the travelers get all their gifts and the Wizard leavs Dorothy behind accidentally as his balloon flies away, they all travel through the land of Oz to the land of the South where they come to Glinda the good witch's castle. Many other characters are met along the way but alas, the movie wraps it all up in the Emerald City and then three clicks back to Kansas. Despite the differences, because there are always differences, the movie is truly a classic and the adaptation did what it needed to do to keep the action moving. Audrey says she likes both the book and the movie the same. (She also loved the songs from the movie!)
Right now I am reading Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher. It's interesting and actually an easy read. Princess Leia is a good writer! I have a pile of books on deck to be read next. I'm just going to keep reading and reading until the New Year comes and then I'll start reading and reading again next year!
Here is my update for that challenge:
Read a Book published the year you were born ~ 10-4-15: Chronicle of a Death Foretold - I really enjoyed reading this book. It was basically about the death of one person and how so many people from his town knew it was going to happen but did nothing to prevent it. You see the whole day of his death from all these different perspectives. I wouldn't mind reading more books by this author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitute, for example)
Read a Banned Book ~ 10-11-15: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - This is the second banned book I've read for this challenge. The first was I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. But I only recently found out this book was banned and my friend Megan had recommended it to me over the summer and when I found out it was banned, I just had to know why! The story is incredible. It is about a boy growing up on a reservation near Spokane, WA. One day he decides he is done going to school on the res and applies to go to a school off the reservation in a mostly white (hick) town. He is bullied at first but stands his ground and comes out being one of the most popular kids at his school. He struggles with ditching his best friend on the res and has to confront him through basketball tournaments between his school and the school on the res. He also has to struggle with the stigma that follows him around the res being that he's the only one who has left the res. Lots of family conflict, deaths, and drama. I could tell right away why it was banned as this young boy makes almost immediate reference to the fact that he does the big M regularly and the words "homo" and "faggot" are tossed around without care. Otherwise, a very moving story and I would still recommend it to adults and perhaps high school kids too.
Read a Nonfiction Book ~ 10-17-15: The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family - I have been reading this book since January with the Children's Ministry group at my church. We've been reading a few chapters a month and discussing them at our meetings. This is a really great book with lots of tips for families on how to help your child's faith stick. The focus is mostly on older kids and especially tweens and teenagers since that is when their faith can really be challenged. Even though Audrey is still little, there are some good ideas to set a foundation for raising her in faith. I'm sure I will return to this book many times in the course of parenthood for reminders and tips!
Read a Book that is Over 100 Years Old ~ 10-26-15: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ - This is the book I am most excited about. I started reading this at the beginning of the month and then Audrey saw it and started looking at the pictures. She asked me about the little girl and the different characters so I asked her if she'd like to read this book with me. She agreed and we proceeded to read 1 - 2 chapters a night during her bedtime routine. I also read her chapters if she asked on the weekends. (This girl LOVES to read!) I was amazed at how much Audrey retained! We just watched the Hollywood adaptation of the book yesterday and she mentioned several times some of the differences. For example, Kansas is just one chapter in the book. In the movie, it's at least the first 30 minutes. In the book, the shoes are silver but in the movie, they are ruby slippers. One different Audrey noticed was that in the book, when Dorothy met each of her traveling companions, they would tell a story about how they came to be. Audrey asked, "When is he going to tell his story?" while we watched the movie. She soon found, they didn't tell their story but rather sang a song about how much they wanted their gift from the Wizard. Also, the Wicked Witch of the West was only one chapter in the book - we meet her and then she's melted. Obviously, we see a whole lot more of her in the movie. Lastly, after the travelers get all their gifts and the Wizard leavs Dorothy behind accidentally as his balloon flies away, they all travel through the land of Oz to the land of the South where they come to Glinda the good witch's castle. Many other characters are met along the way but alas, the movie wraps it all up in the Emerald City and then three clicks back to Kansas. Despite the differences, because there are always differences, the movie is truly a classic and the adaptation did what it needed to do to keep the action moving. Audrey says she likes both the book and the movie the same. (She also loved the songs from the movie!)
Right now I am reading Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher. It's interesting and actually an easy read. Princess Leia is a good writer! I have a pile of books on deck to be read next. I'm just going to keep reading and reading until the New Year comes and then I'll start reading and reading again next year!