Books: July 2017 (13 books)
I'm thinking this is going to be my last book post, at least for a while. I've been posting every book I read on either LJ or DW since 2005, and I hate losing that continuity, but I just don't have time to do it anymore. I do hope to keep up with posting on Goodreads (much easier to do on the go), so if you use Goodreads and would still like to see what I think about books (or, obviously more importantly, what my daughter thinks about books), please connect with me over there!
When, by Victoria Laurie: Finished 7/3/17. Spotted this through an e-library recommendation, I think. A fun read with an interesting premise, though I both saw the ending coming and also shot a bunch of holes in the logic behind Maddie’s ability. Still fun to read.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women, by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo: Started on 3/12/17, finally finished on 7/7/17. My five-year-old daughter calls this "the lady book". We read one or two stories per night, and it took us four months to finish the book. I loved reading her these stories and seeing her get all indignant ("That's not true that girls can't do that! Why would her daddy say that?!") or all fierce ("That's right, Mrs. Hillary!"). I didn't chip in for the crowdfunding of this book (it was a little too pricey) but I have to say, it's a gorgeous book, hardback, with a red ribbon bookmark (that my daughter loves - nice detail), and both the stories and artwork are amazing.
The authors obviously had a difficult task in selecting women to profile, and there are some obvious omissions, but also a TON of women I'd never heard of, and they do a good job of highlighting women of all different races, from all different time periods and from all over the world, and with different interests: there are warriors and scientists and queens and writers and spies and athletes and dancers and politicians. They really cover the breadth of rebel women. My daughter particularly loved the modern-era profiles (she couldn't get over Malala Yousafzai actually getting shot during my daughter's lifetime for saying women should go to school).
Each woman the authors include obviously had a full and interesting life, which they needed to cover in just one page of rather large type - so in many cases, I was wondering why they chose this specific aspect of a life story to focus on, rather than other elements that seemed larger and more important. Some stories are just more successful as stories than others. But overall, the authors did a great job of distilling each person's whole LIFE down to a digestible "bedtime story" format, which serves the purpose of introducing the woman and giving the reader enough to get her interested. Older girls will find this a great resource to find interesting people they can research to learn more about.
My daughter loved the book and actually suggested taking it to school for show n' tell (and her teacher read one of the stories to the class). Anybody who did crowdfund this can be super-proud of bringing such a great book to the world. I already feel like we're going to start over and flip back to the beginning to read it through again.
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig (Mercy Watson #5), by Kate DiCamillo: Finished this on or around 7/8/17. I wouldn’t say this was my daughter’s favorite Mercy Watson book, but the scene at the end where the Animal Control officer falls out of the tree did result in some giggling.
Catwings (Catwings, #1), by Ursula K. Le Guin: Finished on 7/9/17. I figured it was time to start my daughter on her own lifelong journey of Le Guin, so I got her Catwings for her fifth birthday. I had remembered enjoying it, but I had forgotten how simple and charming it is. We read it through twice in the first two days after her birthday. She was scared during the owl scenes and liked the part where the cats come to the children, which is as it should be. Just the thought of cats with soft furry wings! A win. It was perfect bedtime reading for us: short simple chapters, but with some new vocabulary and diction for her to absorb. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Sudden Appearance of Hope, by Claire North: Finished 7/8/17. Not as good as North’s other book, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August; the ending of Hope left me a bit flat. But the conceit of this novel is unique, and it was definitely worth reading.
Stolen Magic (A Tale of Two Castles #2), by Gail Carson Levine: Finished 7/12/17. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is the fact that Levine wrapped it up so neatly, making it clear she wasn’t writing any more sequels.
What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty: Finished 7/13/17. A solid entry in the “amnesia” genre, and a surprisingly realistic one. The amnesia doesn’t just magically fix Alice’s marriage - when she gets her memory back, she is devastated by all that happened. But the amnesia does set the stage for her and her husband to repair their marriage. Overall, worth reading.
The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi: Audiobook, finished 7/14/17. I had previously read Freya a version of Pinocchio, but that must have been a “children’s classic” or something because this one was the original and was definitely gorier. There were a lot of creepy bits, and she was still talking about how the cat’s paw got bitten off just a few days ago. I was a little worried about her hearing that, but she seemed fine and seemed to really like it.
Annihilation (Southern Reach #1), by Jeff VanderMeer: Finished on 7/17/17. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like it, and that goes for the whole trilogy. It’s kind of what the TV show LOST should have been if the writers had plotted it out correctly. It makes thistles both captivating and sort of horrifying. Highly recommended.
The People We Hate at the Wedding, by Grant Ginder: Finished 7/18/17. Fun and somewhat silly.
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, by Nina Riggs: Finished 7/24/17. I’m so struck by Nina’s grace in living with her diagnosis - in writing this book, in living the last years of her life - and how she shared that grace with everyone around her.
Saga, Vol. 7 (Saga #7), by Brian K. Vaughan: Received this as a birthday gift and read it right away (on 7/27/17). Many sads in this one!
Unfinished: Nevertheless: A Memoir, by Alec Baldwin: Gave up on this in late July. I waited so long to check out the eBook from the library, but it was just not very interesting. I made it up to Baldwin’s early 20s and the beginnings of his acting career. I’m sure it would be good for someone who’s really into film history or Baldwin himself, but just for a casual fan of both, the writing isn’t compelling enough to carry it.
When, by Victoria Laurie: Finished 7/3/17. Spotted this through an e-library recommendation, I think. A fun read with an interesting premise, though I both saw the ending coming and also shot a bunch of holes in the logic behind Maddie’s ability. Still fun to read.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women, by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo: Started on 3/12/17, finally finished on 7/7/17. My five-year-old daughter calls this "the lady book". We read one or two stories per night, and it took us four months to finish the book. I loved reading her these stories and seeing her get all indignant ("That's not true that girls can't do that! Why would her daddy say that?!") or all fierce ("That's right, Mrs. Hillary!"). I didn't chip in for the crowdfunding of this book (it was a little too pricey) but I have to say, it's a gorgeous book, hardback, with a red ribbon bookmark (that my daughter loves - nice detail), and both the stories and artwork are amazing.
The authors obviously had a difficult task in selecting women to profile, and there are some obvious omissions, but also a TON of women I'd never heard of, and they do a good job of highlighting women of all different races, from all different time periods and from all over the world, and with different interests: there are warriors and scientists and queens and writers and spies and athletes and dancers and politicians. They really cover the breadth of rebel women. My daughter particularly loved the modern-era profiles (she couldn't get over Malala Yousafzai actually getting shot during my daughter's lifetime for saying women should go to school).
Each woman the authors include obviously had a full and interesting life, which they needed to cover in just one page of rather large type - so in many cases, I was wondering why they chose this specific aspect of a life story to focus on, rather than other elements that seemed larger and more important. Some stories are just more successful as stories than others. But overall, the authors did a great job of distilling each person's whole LIFE down to a digestible "bedtime story" format, which serves the purpose of introducing the woman and giving the reader enough to get her interested. Older girls will find this a great resource to find interesting people they can research to learn more about.
My daughter loved the book and actually suggested taking it to school for show n' tell (and her teacher read one of the stories to the class). Anybody who did crowdfund this can be super-proud of bringing such a great book to the world. I already feel like we're going to start over and flip back to the beginning to read it through again.
Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig (Mercy Watson #5), by Kate DiCamillo: Finished this on or around 7/8/17. I wouldn’t say this was my daughter’s favorite Mercy Watson book, but the scene at the end where the Animal Control officer falls out of the tree did result in some giggling.
Catwings (Catwings, #1), by Ursula K. Le Guin: Finished on 7/9/17. I figured it was time to start my daughter on her own lifelong journey of Le Guin, so I got her Catwings for her fifth birthday. I had remembered enjoying it, but I had forgotten how simple and charming it is. We read it through twice in the first two days after her birthday. She was scared during the owl scenes and liked the part where the cats come to the children, which is as it should be. Just the thought of cats with soft furry wings! A win. It was perfect bedtime reading for us: short simple chapters, but with some new vocabulary and diction for her to absorb. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Sudden Appearance of Hope, by Claire North: Finished 7/8/17. Not as good as North’s other book, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August; the ending of Hope left me a bit flat. But the conceit of this novel is unique, and it was definitely worth reading.
Stolen Magic (A Tale of Two Castles #2), by Gail Carson Levine: Finished 7/12/17. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is the fact that Levine wrapped it up so neatly, making it clear she wasn’t writing any more sequels.
What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty: Finished 7/13/17. A solid entry in the “amnesia” genre, and a surprisingly realistic one. The amnesia doesn’t just magically fix Alice’s marriage - when she gets her memory back, she is devastated by all that happened. But the amnesia does set the stage for her and her husband to repair their marriage. Overall, worth reading.
The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi: Audiobook, finished 7/14/17. I had previously read Freya a version of Pinocchio, but that must have been a “children’s classic” or something because this one was the original and was definitely gorier. There were a lot of creepy bits, and she was still talking about how the cat’s paw got bitten off just a few days ago. I was a little worried about her hearing that, but she seemed fine and seemed to really like it.
Annihilation (Southern Reach #1), by Jeff VanderMeer: Finished on 7/17/17. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like it, and that goes for the whole trilogy. It’s kind of what the TV show LOST should have been if the writers had plotted it out correctly. It makes thistles both captivating and sort of horrifying. Highly recommended.
The People We Hate at the Wedding, by Grant Ginder: Finished 7/18/17. Fun and somewhat silly.
The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, by Nina Riggs: Finished 7/24/17. I’m so struck by Nina’s grace in living with her diagnosis - in writing this book, in living the last years of her life - and how she shared that grace with everyone around her.
Saga, Vol. 7 (Saga #7), by Brian K. Vaughan: Received this as a birthday gift and read it right away (on 7/27/17). Many sads in this one!
Unfinished: Nevertheless: A Memoir, by Alec Baldwin: Gave up on this in late July. I waited so long to check out the eBook from the library, but it was just not very interesting. I made it up to Baldwin’s early 20s and the beginnings of his acting career. I’m sure it would be good for someone who’s really into film history or Baldwin himself, but just for a casual fan of both, the writing isn’t compelling enough to carry it.