Sunday, October 3, 2010

I Love October!

Why do I love October?

Before I pontificate on why I love October, let me share that I'm back on track with my reading. Whew! Three grownup books finished last week. None of them War and Peace, but three real books nevertheless. Thanks to all who offered suggestions and reminded me that slumps are a natural part of a reader's life.

Now...why I love October....



First, October is time for the Readathon! It's next weekend. If you are not signed up, here's the place to go. If you are signed up, let me know so that I can visit your blog during the 'Thon. I always do a Readathon Lite, so you won't see me here much after 11 pm CST, but I'll read as long and as hard as I can.

Second, October is my birthday month. I've been in a Birthday Book Club for five years or so. And this is the month that I will be swimming in books. Hurray!


Third, October is the Texas Book Festival! It will be in Austin, Texas the weekend of October 16 and 17. All the festivities are in and around the Capitol. Coming this year are Chimamanda Ngozi, M.T. Anderson, Laurie Halsey Anderson, T.A. Barron, Julia Glass, Holly Black, Anna Dewdney, Meg Cabot, Gail Caldwell, Cinda Williams Chima, Ingrid Law, Chip Kidd, Carmen Tafolla, Tim Tingle, Jennifer Egan....Like I always do, I'll be leaving BookCrossing books here and there all around the Capitol. We who are Texas book bloggers will be meeting up for lunch on Saturday at the Texas Book Blogger Party. And everything is FREE!

Could October get any more bookish? Well, yes! Next week is our Scholastic Book Fair in the library.
I will be...

Super Reader!!!

Books I read this week:



Looking for Alaska by John Green

I guess, if we are going to be completely honest here, this is not an adult book but a young adult book. Not for the very impressionable, though. It's a painful read, full of teenage angst and first love suffering and all the incredible array of Problems that apparently an average sixteen-year-old now has to confront. Alaska, in this story, is not a place but a person, a girl to be exact, and she's a beautiful creative girl who also has deep Problems. Miles, our protagonist, falls for Alaska, but his love is unrequited. Or is it? And why does Alaska have such Problems?

I liked this book until I hit the midpoint and all the questions were resolved. I kept reading to the end, thinking that a book that had been awarded the Printz wouldn't just putter along to the end, but putter it pretty much did. And it's bleak, softened only with the affection of Miles' good parents (have I read any other YA books in recent times with strong parents?)

And, before you ask, it was not a 1001 Children's Book and rightly so (in my estimation). I liked it; didn't love it.



The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede

You might expect a book about passengers on planes diverted to Newfoundland after 9/11 to be bleak. It's not. I've decided, in fact, that we need to send all the angst-y American teens and depressed American adults to Newfoundland for their next vacation. It's that restorative.

The story begins on 9/11. After four planes were hijacked and crashed, American officials closed US airports. Planes already in the air had to find some other place to land. Thirty-eight landed in Newfoundland.

What did passengers find there? Kindness and generosity and hospitality like I have only rarely seen in my lifetime.

The perfect book to read if you are feeling like the world is a sad place these days.



Dewey's Nine Lives: The Legacy of the Small-Town Library Cat Who Inspired Millions by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

I'm a sucker for an animal story. And Dewey has to be my favorite animal story of all. If you don't know about Dewey (is there anyone who does not?), he's the library cat who healed a town hit by a recession.

So when I was offered an ARC of Dewey's Nine Lives, I was elated.

And I felt elated the entire time I read this book. It's that kind of book.

This is a collection of stories about other Dewey-ish cats who have come into the lives of other people-in-need-of-Deweys. Please don't anticipate great writing; that's not the strength of this book. Compare the writing plus the strength-of-the-story to Three Cups of Tea.

During the Depression, Shirley Temple lifted the spirits of many. Dewey is the Shirley Temple of our time.

Thank you to Dutton for sharing this book with me.

25 comments:

  1. I have Looking for Alaska, but I haven't read it yet. I've really enjoyed Green's other books, though, so I'm sure I'll get to it.

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  2. I LOVED The Day the World Came to town - it was one of my favorites the year I read it (pre-blogging). Hurray for Super Reader!!

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  3. Love the costume!! And also great reviews too!
    I actually was thinking of getting looking for alaska because I heard so much about it!

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  4. Hi Debbie! I love October soooo much too. I can't wait for the RaT. I wish that there were people IRL that I could participate with.

    I'm bummed that you only *liked* Looking for Alaska. :P I absolutely adored the book. It's one of my top faves.

    The Dewey collection was good? I didn't like the original. I thought the writing was lacking, which totally disappointed me because I was uber excited about it when I first saw it.

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  5. The Day the World Came to Town sounds like a great book! I'll add it to my TBR pile. Yes, October is a great month! I can't wait until the read-a-thon. I have my stack ready to go. Have a great week!

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  6. Thanks for spreading the TX Book Blogger Party word! I can't wait to meet everyone!!

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  7. I love the costume!

    And yay for the Gander Newfoundland book! I grew up 40 minutes from there and I remember everyone from my highschool volunteering at local schools that hosted the passengers. I don't advise the TV movie they made about it however. It was kinda odd.

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  8. I noticed Looking for Alaska was a book that some felt should be taken off the shelves so it seemed to be a good choice for Banned Book Week. I'll have to seek out other Green books.

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  9. October is my birthday month as well! But wait, what is a birthday book club? I am intrigued....

    I am also intrigued by The Day the World Came to Town, especially since I have heard many stories about the people who were stranded after 9/11 in my current hometown of Halifax, NS. D and I have been wanting to visit Newfoundland ever since I moved to Atlantic Canada a little over a year ago.

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  10. I liked the before part of Alaska a lot, but it was the after part that disappointed me a little. I did like it; I just didn't love it.

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  11. Christina, I'd say the writing in this Dewey was exactly like the writing in the last Dewey.

    Best for those who love animal stories or happy endings.

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  12. Our birthday club has a max of twelve members. Each member has a birthday month. We send at least one book each month to a club member. And then, we have a birthday month. Hurray! Lots of books in the mail that month!

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  13. My husband's a big fan of October too, but I miss the longer days and the warm weather.

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  14. I used to love the book fair when it came to my elementary school. Love your costume!

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  15. I wish I had enough time to participate. But I think I will pick up Dewey. I'm a sucker for any Kitty Story!

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  16. I love October as well! There is just something about fall and reading that goes hand in hand. (and a great cup of hot chocolate)

    I also love your Super Reader costume! What a great way to get the kids jazzed for the book fair. I never know who is more excited for the book fair - me or the kids!

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  17. Yes, excellent costume - strikes exactly the right note, I'd say!

    I also like your reviews of these books - as you say not all books can be great literary works - but that doesn't stop them being great reads. Sometimes it's good to read something that's just heartwarming and restful on the brain.

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  18. I miss the school book fairs - but fortunately I live close to a Scholastic Warehouse and try to take advantage of their periodic sales.

    The Birthday Book Club sounds like such fun! I am anxious to see what gifts you receive this year.

    I am definitely leaning toward participating in a Read-athon lite. In the past my goal was to read 24 hours out of 48 (I would extend the event until Sunday). This year I think I may strive to read 12 hours out of 48: 6 hours each day. Hopefully that will fix this reading slump.

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  19. Hey! I like your custume. Happy reading birthday too. I'm really looking forward to what comes out of the Texas Book festival cuz I have one of my fav. authors in there-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

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  20. So glad to meet you through the Cybils! Thanks for visiting Imagination Soup.

    I love that you say grown-up books! :) You're my kind of gal. And, what's a birthday book club, it sounds fun. Happy birthday month!

    Melissa

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  21. So glad you got over your slump! October sounds like it will be a wonderful month for you. Happy reading!

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  22. I love a good animal story, thanks. These days it seems I spend all my time reading books to my 2.5 yr old!

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  23. I can see why you love October so much. You have lots to look forward to!

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  24. Good luck with your reading on Saturday! I'll be cheering you on throughout the day and reading along as well.

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