I Am the Cheese

There was decent turn out for the movie and interesting commentary during the movie as well as an interesting discussion afterwards.

For those of you who didn't make it the movie had some significant differences, but they weren't necessarily bad things. The movie was just a tad bit less confusing then the book. The ending was just a bit more tidy.



**Possible Spoiler**
I am still convinced that Adam/Paul was drugged to so that he wouldn't ask questions and remember his past except when they wanted him to. I think that would explain his very weird behavior most of the time, yet there seemed to be some coherence to his traveling and thought process. If he was drugged for three years he may not remember anything.

Okay, okay...enough. Comment if you would like otherwise we will put the Cheese rest!

Harry Potter #7 Announced

Have you heard?!!?

Harry Potter #7's title is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow.

There are quite a few articles about the title out there. Some about the way to find the title and others about the significance of the title and the contents of the book.

Here is one of my favorites.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-061221potter-story,0,5238548.story

Robert Cormier on NHPR

Listen to author Patricia Campbell talk about her new book Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe on New Hampshire Public Radio.

http://www.nhpr.org/node/11974

Read It 1st -- I am the Cheese

The next book for Read It 1st is I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier. Reserve your copy today. Discuss online right now or in person on Thursday December 7th during lunch. The movie will be @ 6:30 p.m. on December 7th.

Godless

This reminder is coming out a little late, but I thought I should do it anyways. TODAY is the discussion for Godless by Pete Hautman. There hasn't been much discussion on the blog about it, but I have heard a few opinions from you. I am looking forward to the discussion. As I have told a couple of you I didn't necessarily love the book, but I definitely appreciate it. I think it is very well written and very discusable.

Check out the author's website for some of his thoughts on why he wrote the book. I saw him speak this summer and it was very interesting to listen to. Ask me and I'll show you the cool way he signed my book!

Mix up of priorities...

The point of my weekend was to finish Ethan Frome, read all of Godless, and maybe start Never After, since it's due tomorrow....
Well, I finished Ethan Frome (it's such a romantic book! but Romeo and Juliet romantic.... sad...). And I made it through The Pawn of Prophecy and am part way through Queen of Sorcery, both by David Eddings, and both which I have read already.... but they're so good and they lift up my spirits cuz I always get laughs out of the characters! I think I'll have to go through the whoooole series now! Good thing I have my own collection, cuz the library doesn't.... ;-]
I still have two weeks before the Godless discussion, don't I??

I gave up. I got New Moon, Rebel Angels and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

All of them were really great. It was weird, because with her new book, Sarah Dessen involves characters and a location with her new characters. I was really excited. I bet if she keeps intertwining the stories, it could make an interesting series of movies. And I mean good movies, not melodramatic mandy moore stuff.

Speaking of movies, did you guys hear that they might make twilight into a movie? Danielle probably already knows, but I still think it's interesting. I really hope they don't mess up the story, like they do so many times...

I've finished!

I actually finished Twilight a couple hours after I posted. Jack's Mannequin is a good band to listen to. Especially Made For Each Other/You Can Breathe. That song is kinda about love, then it's gets dangerous, but there still is love. Similiar to the book.

I absolutely loved the book. And I really want to read New Moon. My problem is that I don't want to buy it (it'd be weird, having Twilight in paperback, and new Moon in hardcover). I'm really uptight about my personal library. I'm on the waiting list for it at the public library. I believe I'm number 53 now! The agony!

But Twilight got me started on a reading jag. I've read The Count Of Monte Cristo, and I finished A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libby Bray.

I highly advise you guys to read The Count Of Monte Cristo. The movie is amazing, but the book is even better. Even though it's a little sad to see Dantes so obsessed with revenge, you keep holding out for a happy ending.

I also like A Great And Terrible Beauty. Just based on the back cover, I wasn't expecting much. I figured it'd be another girl goes to finishing/boarding school, is teased, makes one good friend, and then something happens and her life is perfect. It's not. Gemma grew up in India, and wanted to go to England and become a proper young lady. Her mother doesn't want her to. Something terrible happens, and Gemma's grandmother sends her to Spence. She becomes friends with her roommate, Ann, who is there on scholarship and isn't very popular at all. I think i'll stop right there, in the story line, but I'll tell you guys this. Gemma has visions. It's connected to her mother, and to Spence (her school).
There's also a little bit of a sub-plot with a boy. I don't know what to make of it, but I think it probably leads to more in the sequel.

One last thing. Panic! At The Disco... has a book club. I think it's pretty cool, since most people aren't like "Ooh, band. I wonder if they have a good book club?" You can get to it through their main website. I think we'll be reading The Picture of Dorian Gray next.

I'm accidently skipping class, so I shall go make up for it by studying. All of you should know that skipping class is not good! (especially when it's you that is paying thousands to go! eep!)

have a great day!

Read and Write

On the same thread as Danielle's post, Mrs. Foster received information today about the Letters About Literature writing contest. "Select a book that took you on a surprising or inspiring journey. It might be a recent journey or one you remember from your childhood. Then write a personal letter to the author, explaining how his or her work somehow changed your view of the world or yourself."--Quoted from the Entry Information Form for Letters About Literature. If you have any questions we also have the entry information form in the library. Entries must be postmarked December 8, 2006, you can turn them at the library or send them in yourself.

More Photos from Teen Read Wk

From 2006 Teen Rea...

Check out the new photos from Teen Read Week. The link is on the right!

I am what one would call a "tool"

I'm on pg 252. And I must apologize for all the times I said Twilight didn't appeal to me. I LOVE this book.

I thought I'd tear myself away from it to tell you guys.

The trip home was awesome. It got me motivated to not end up in Holmen again! Kidding. It was great. I'm going to see what book club type thing they have at my school, and get a library card for the public library. So, the Holmen motivation did get me going.

Okay. I can't stand being away from the book. I'll resurface after I've finished it!

More Photos--The Audiobook Toss

Check out more photos from Teen Read Week and the Audiobook Toss!!

2006 Teen Read Wk

Finally gave in

Hey. I was encouraged to write in this when I visited on friday, so I figured why not.

This'll be quick, because I have a paper due in a couple hours, but just wanted to let you guys (specifically Bee) know that I finally caved in, and will be starting Twilight after my psych class.

I also bought the Complete Wreckage, the entire set of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's a really good series, even if it is meant for children. I mean, Narnia books were meant for kids too. That doesn't mean older people can't enjoy them, right?

Okay, well, I hope all of you are doing well. I've gotta get going. buh bye!

Teen Read Week-Library Olympics

Check out the photos from Teen Read Week. They will be updated daily after the lunch events. Don't forget to participate in the upcoming events...Audiobook Toss...Dewey Limbo...Book Club...Dress-Up Day...Closing Ceremonies!

2006 Teen Read Wk

I Am The Messenger -- Quotes

On topic...
For those of you who like quotes...this is one of my favorites from I Am The Messenger

Still, when she stands up, Angie Carusso thanks me. She asks my name, but I tell her it isn't important.
"No," she protests, "it is."
I relent. "It's Ed."
"Well, thanks, Ed," she says. "Thank you."
She thanks me a few times more, but the best words I hear all day come to me right when I think it's over. It's the girl, Casey. She twists herself onto Angie's hand and says, "Next week I'll give you a bite of mine, Mum."
In a way, I feel sad and empty, but I also feel that I've done what was intended. Just once, an ice cream for Angie Carusso.

This is such a great reminder to all of us that it is the little things. We don't need to make a big gesture to make a big impact. I think that if society just thought about what it was doing before it acted sometimes we would have a lot more of these moments. I hope that this book makes me or reminds me to think or change the way I might treat a person or do something that might not be that big of a deal to me, but might really affect that person. This theme is also apparent in the book/movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Library Thing

So I really love Library Thing. They have shirts and even thongs. I would just like to know if I can look at someone else's wishlist or another list to get ideas for good books. I suppose I could just pick random ones like normal but if anybody has read a really good one lately, let me know. Thanks!

Photos--Read It 1st

Read It 1st: How To Deal

Sep 21, 2006 - 5 Photos

Check out the photos from the 1st Read It 1st Movie Nights! Feel free to leave comments on the album or here. Also, know that the photos can not be found doing a search, so only people who know where to look (you of course) will be able to find them. Enjoy!!

Read It 1st--Someone Like You and That Summer by Sarah Dessen were combined to make the movie How to Deal starring Mandy Moore. As you can see from the photos we got comfy and watched the movie on the "big screen." Houa and Sara won the big black comfy chairs which they had the option of sharing with people of their choice or keeping to themself!

I had a great time and I hope to see everyone back on November 2nd for the discussion and viewing of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stop by the library today to reserve your copy!

Twilight and New Moon--iMix

I made these and thought those of you who are interested may or may not want to check them out. You can listen to little clips of the songs without purchasing :) You will need iTunes to look/listen. Also, I noticed that New Moon is available on iTunes as an audiobook!

Twilight Playlist
New Moon Playlist

Stephenie Meyer

I finally got around to posting a few photos to tease you with. Unfortunately, the quality is not great. I had my complicated camera with me and when you hand it off to someone else to take a photo they may catch you mid-sentence, so I look pretty goofy, but Stephenie looks great.

New Moon-Sequel to Twilight

Okay, from the start, I'll let you know that this post won't be a spoiler.

BUT!!! All comments on this post are most definitely going to be spoilers.... so if you haven't read New Moon yet, don't look at the comments!!!! lol! ;]

I finished the book this morning!! I started it at 10:30 last night, the last time I looked at the clock was about 4:30, then I fell asleep. Lol! I was up again at ten finishing the book.

My reaction...

OMG!!!!!! It made me cry!!! I most definitely had tears in my eyes at more than one part!! Most of the book was painful to read about.... I was so worried about Bella!!! This was definitely a book for extreme emotions, although laughter was one of them. But still very powerful to read!!

So, yeah, about those spoilers in the comments.... If you've read the book already, leave a comment!!! I'll be back later to check!! :]

-Kaati

Sarah Dessen Wrap-Up

Join in the lunch discussion of Sarah Dessen's books on September 21 during all three lunches. At 6:30 p.m. on September 21 we will be showing How to Deal the movie which combines Someone Like You and That Sumemr. For more information stop by the library.

If you need copies of any of Dessen's books they are also available in the library.

Happy reading!

yay!! school!

back in school! and in my favorite place........ the library! yaaa!! stefi and i were just telling mrs. rech how the library is like being in a candy store at christmas time!! i loooove the library!! there are so many good looking books in here to read! i guess we got a bunch of new ones over the summer. right now i have checked out "Never Let Me Go" which was on the summer reads list... i haven't gotten to it yet. Also, "Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers" which is (i think) the fifth book of the Georgia Nicholson series. Good!!! And, "Lionboy" which just has an interesting cover and title!! And "-defining dulcie". It looks kinda short but i'm interested! And also.... I got SPECIALS!!!!!!!!! before stefi did!!! yea!! i have to read it really fast.
but then mrs. rech was being mean and wouldn't let me check out six books! how cruel!!! i mean, i'll have all the books back in before they're even due!!!! :]
wello, gots to go!!!!!
Love, Kaati!!
p.s. WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :]

I just found out how to work this!!!!!!

I think this summer has been way too long. i just found out how to work this place and now im supper psyched!!! some books we have to read this year are The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint and Once Upon a Marigold. they are both fiction and full of excitment and a few love stories and a little bit of revenge. they are both just really really good. well, write to you soon!!!

Just started Specials...

I just started reading Specials--finally!! I don' t really like Tally right now. For those of you who read it...Did you feel frustrated with Tally and Shay to begin with? Does it get better (I know I asked, but I don't want to know, really I just want to finish it and hope it gets better!)?

Just finished Goodnight, Nobody
Currently listening to Inkheart

Happy reading!!

Both Sides Of Time

I just finished reading Both Sides Of Time by Caroline B. Cooney. It was actually, sadly, the first book I've had a chance to read all summer! I couldn't put in down, though. It is the first book in a series of four. The description right off the back of the book says, "Imagine changing centuries- and making things worse, not better, on both sides of time. Imagine being involved in two love triangles in two different centuries. Imagine discovering that, no matter which direction you travel in time, you must abandon someone you love. Meet fifteen-year-old Annie Lockwood, a romantic living in the wrong century. When she travels back a hundred years and lands in 1895, a time when privileged young ladies wear magnificent gowns, attend elegant parties, and are courted by handsome gentlemen, Annie at lasts finds romance. But she is a trespasser in time. Will she choose to stay in the past? And if she does, will she be allowed to stay?" The beginning is a little hard to understand, but once you get past it, you will just want to keep reading to find out what will happen next. It's really unpredictable and told through different characters' perspectives. I would definitely recommend it.

Happy Last Day of July!!!!

Hello everyone :)

Yes today is the last day of July, it is kind of like the last day of summer for me, because once we get into August, I start back into school mode. So yeahhhhhh July, 31st!!!!!!

Sorry for being soooo absent on the blog, in fact I think this is my first entry. Well anyway, good work Kaati on kickin' it and getting some major reading done and posting your book conquests for others to take in. Sorry that I can't respond to any of your blog requests, but I will try to pick up the next book in the Great and Terrible Beauty Series and post some comments about it.

And thank you Miss Bee for the suggestions and the thought provoking questions. Hmmmm when I'm at home, my favorite place to read is my kitchen table, with cereal or a good snack handy. My second favorite place to read is my lazyboy recliner, but then I run the risk of my grandpa syndrome catching up with me and taking a good long snoozer.

I've been teaching ESL this summer to mostly Koreans, a couple of Latin Americans and one man from Africa at UW- Eau Claire, and we're reading Holes, so I've been working a lot with that book which is always a blast because I really like it. For fun, I read Ender's Shadow and I just started the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but our ESL group went to Chicago this last weekend and I forgot the book in the hotel room (oooooooooooooh nooooooooo!) So I will be going to Borders (there's no Barnes and Noble in Eau Claire) to pick up a copy to replace the one I lost from the library. Speaking of libraries, one of best perks of my summer job here is that the university library is just a hop skip and jump away from my room, so a good read is never far away :)

Well, when I finish the Sisterhood I'll definitely post something, and then I'll try out the new one from Great and Terrible Beauty series. Enjoy what is left of summer!

K-Dog.... er... er Atticuspicard.... er...Mr. Krueger;)

Literary vs. Classics

I receive emails from yahoo group called adbooks. They discuss young adult books, it is acutally pretty interesting when I have time to read it. This is their website http://www.adbooks.org/ if anyone is interested.

Anyways, this was in one of the emails...
"I think award winners are literary and classics are popular."--Jonathan Hunt (used by permission)

What do you think of this statement? What would you consider a classic by this definition? Literary?

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

I read this one at home last night. I really liked it!! Yet again, I found myself really liking Dessen's male characters. I kept thinking to myself, "Sa-woooon!!!" (It's from the book.)Actually, I loved all the characters in the book, except the mother, which I guess was supposed to be the point.
So anyways, a synopsis.
The main character, Macy, is facing a grand and boring summer. Her brainiac yet distant boyfriend is going off to "Brain Camp" and she's taking over his super fun job at the library! (truthfully, i would love to work at a library, but not the one in this book, with these girls....jeez!) She's got not one single friend to keep her busy outside of work, which only highlights the fact that she and her mother are having problems. And that she's still reeling from her father's death a year and a half before. Everything changes though, when Macy meets a catoring group, Wish. The five people working for Wish are so different from any Macy has ever met. She starts working with them and before long, her world is changing in a wonderful way...
I loved a lot of the material from this book. The crazy catorers (sounds like so much fun!), the high school age group, Wes's junk metal welded sculptures (I have a cousin who does the same thing), heck, even the thought of running was great in this book! I really want to discuss this book with someone. "Please God I'm begging you" read this book, "okay"???
-Kaati

Another cool reading tool...

I discovered this and thought you all might enjoy it as well. It is a free service that allows you to rate books that you have read by answering a few questions. It recommends books based on these ratings of everyone who has "coded" the book. So the more people that use it the better. Anyways, it looks interesting.

http://www.storycode.com/index.php

Upstate by K. Buckhanon

I went to the Barnes and Nobles in Evansville yesteday and I read this book. I didn't think it was worthy of my five hours at B&N! The book was interesting (it was interesting to see things through a prisoner's perspective) and it wasn't really boring, but it just wasn't exciting enough for me! I guess I just didn't like that it was written in a letter style. I mean, it doesn't really seem as exciting as first person because by the time the person gets to writing a letter, all the real feelings are gone, all the adrenaline and things like that. I don't know! I may need to discuss this with someone....
-Kaati

i made it to the library

I made it to the library in Madisonville on Tuesday!!! YES!!!!

The library in Madisonville doesn't have it's own Young Adults section! Therefore, Kaati couldn't easily find her booklist books... NO!!!

So, I had to resort to just browsing the stacks. I came away with Unspeakable, The Witness, and The Switch all by Sandra Brown, Obsessed by Ted Decker, and my "comfort book" Polgara the Sorceress by David Eddings.

I started with Unspeakable. It must've been good cuz I stayed up until 6 in the morning reading it! I would describe it as a romantic/murder mystery (my favorite genre!). A widowed young mother, Anna Corbett, is trying to keep the family farm away from industrial developers. Jack, a mysterious drifter, shows up at the farm and volunteers himself for the job of a much-needed farmhand. And Carl Herbold, a murderer who just escaped from prison, is headed towards the Corbett farm to have his revenge against Anna's father-in-law. The twist is, Anna was born deaf and is rather unsafe alone in her own house. Jack (a supposed stranger) takes it upon himself to be Anna's protecter. I really liked that this book dealt with a deaf woman. It was educational! It showed me that deaf people process their thoughts differently than hearing people. It wasn't a quick read, but it held my attention the entire night!!

Ten o'clock on Wednesday night and I started The Witness. Again, I did not go to bed until after the sunrise (it's summer, I can keep bad hours if I want!). This was another romantic/murder mystery, like all the Sandra Brown books I read. This one's really hard to explain... Kendall is on the run with her three month old baby and her "husband"(who conviently got amnesia during a car crash in the beginning of the book). You immediately know that she's not married to the man, but you have no clue who he is. Further into the story, you're introduced to the horrific part of human society; a "Brotherhood" much worse than the Klu Klux Klan. This book had so many questions and twists that I just couldn't put it down!!

I also started The Switch last night, but I'm not far enough into it to describe any of it. I hope it's good! The other book I got, Obsessed, is not one that I'll be reading in the middle of the night... the inside cover made it seem really scary... Stephan Friedman is an ordinary man. Until he inheirits a "clue" and an incredible fortune from the grave of a Holocaust survivor. "... a clue that only he and one other man can possibly understand. That man is Roth Braun, a serial killer who has been waiting for Stephan for thirty years. Roth was stopped once before. This time nothing will get in his way." And of course, I probably won't read Polgara straight through... as my "comfort book", I just read through all my favorite parts.... :-)

My mom and I have made plans to spend tomorrow or Sunday at the Barnes and Noble in Evansville, so hopefully I'll be able to get another discussion book to read!!

Well, I best be going!!
Later,
Kaati

Favorite place to read

Where is your favorite place to read this summer? Why?

I'll post mine after some of you share first. If you have a photo feel free to share that too!

Happy reading!

Library Thing

Something cool I discovered this spring. It is a website where you can catalog your own library or keep track of what you have read. I am having fun adding the books I have read over the last couple of years (since about 2002 when I started keeping track consistently of what I had read). If you want a peak at my collectiong her is my link:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SheReads

Some people use it only for the books they own, while I use it for everything I've read.

Happy reading!!

Keeping the Moon

I finished Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen last week. I loved it! Kaati I think you would love this one as well. Especially since you liked This Lullaby and are living somewhere else for the summer.

Colie (short for Nicole, I think this a really creative nickname for Nicole) used to be overweight along with her mom who started doing aerobics and is not a Richard Simmons type selling work out videos and being healthy. Colie lost a lot of weight, but still feels like an outsider. She is spending the summer with her aunt who is overweight and a little on the wierd side while her mother tours Europe to promote a new video or book or something. I loved Colie's voice and perspective on life.

Has anyone else read this one? I read it while on a short vacation to Niagara Falls, NY and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was so good I couldn't put it down and my husband didn't understand why I wanted to finish it while sitting at our campsite enjoying a fire (he thought I should be talking to him).

has anyone read...

has anyone read anything by Janet Evanovich!?!?! O.M.G. her Stephanie Plum books are hilarious!!!!!!! I love them so much and would like to talk w/ someone about them!!! (but I haven't read Twelve Sharp yet, so if you have, don't bring that up!).

i'm just really in need of some social chat and/or a library.........

Til later!
-Kaati

other books i'd have no problem discussing... Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, A Great and Terrible Beauty/Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, and anything by David and Leigh Eddings.

:-)

i haven't read much!!

well, i've been in kentucky since the 28th, but i haven't made it to the great madisonville library yet.... i did manage to go to the onalaska library sometime in june. they didn't have any of our reading list books!! i was shocked!! they truly do have a small selection! on a better note, i did get to go to a barnes and noble in evansville, id (the BEST b&n i've ever been in.... two stories, a seperate music shop, a starbucks, escalators, lots and lots of comfy chairs.... i was in heaven!!! lol). there i got This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

I read This Lullaby the other night and I really like it!! I'm positive it's the first book I've ever read about that specific age group (just graduated high school-20). And of course, I just love "love" stories, but the fact that the main girl Remy pretended she didn't believe in love at all made it better... she was so stubborn about her beliefs. And the deal with her mother and marriage, yet her mother still had a positive attitude towards love. I just really wanted to hit Remy and knock some sense into her by the end of the book!! Of course, the main male character, Dexter, had my heart the entire book! He was perfect (in my mind!). If anyone else had read this book yet, let me know!!

I started Pride and Prejudice yesterday. I'm only on chapter 5, so I think I'll go sit out in the gorgeous weather! I'll probably be done with this book before I check the blog again, so if you wanna talk about this one too, it's fine by me!!! :-)

Adios! Kaati

What I've Been Reading So Far This Summer

Although I haven't had too much time to read yet this summer (except for re-reading the Belgariad), I have had the chance to read a pretty darn good book. It doesn't have an name, per se, but the thing on the front cover is the prescription sign (the one that looks like and RX, only connected together) and I don't know how to do that on the computer, so I'll just assume that you all know what I mean. Anyways, it was a good book, definitely made you think, since it's about prescription drug addiction and dealing, specifically in high school. Maybe I'm just really naive, but some parts of it weren't too believable to me (mainly just the amount of conversations the main character, Thyme, overhears dealing with teenagers taking prescription drugs). I definitely recommend it, though, especially since then I'll be able to talk to someone about the book more specifically! Well, just thought I'd post a little something about that, since it was a pretty darn good book (even if the ending was a little ambiguous, which usually drives me insane), and I said I'd blog, so here's me attempting to do so. Well, I'll talk to you guys later!!

*~Kari~*

Perks of Being a Wallflower--Discussion

Check out the photos from 2nd lunch's discussion.

Sara Dessen Summer

It's that time of year! Summer is almost here. This summer we are discussing ANY and ALL of Sarah Dessen's young adult novels, Just Listen, The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, Dreamland, Keeping the Moon, Someone Like You and That Summer.

Also share with us what else you are reading--the good, the bad and the ugly. Summer is a time when you can get caught up on all those books you haven't had time to read because you've had too much homework!

Happy reading!!

Mixed Tapes in Perks of Being a Wallflower

I haven't heard anything about The Perks of Being a Wallflower. What do you think? Are you glad you are reading it?

I am about one-third of the way through it. I haven't heard about mixed tapes in forever. Do you still make mixed tapes/CDs? If so, what does it feel like to receive a mixed tape/CD from friends? Do you recognize the songs that are on the tapes Charlie and the other characters make for each other? What do these songs make you think of?

In high school (1996, yes I am that old), a friend of mine and I put together a mixed tape as a graduation present for our friends. She and I had fun putting it together and I know of a few friends (those that still have cassette players) that still listen to them even now ten years later. I think I feel a sense of nostolgia when I listen to the songs that were on that tape (I have most of them on CD and now on my iPod). It makes me think of a time when things were very different then they are now. It makes me think of moments that happened while listening to the songs.

Happy reading...

Wow

I just finished Jump Ball: a basketball season in poems by Mel Glenn. It's just... so sad. It's about this basketball team, told from a lot of different perspectives through poems. Some of the players see basketball as their entire lives, while others see it as a game in high school. The manager of the team has a crush on a player from the Ukraine, and it's cool to see how that relationship unfolds.
It's a very good book. I'm definitely recommending it to friends.

I finished Rewind by Jan Page last night. It's about a boy who starts a band, and on the night of his first gig he dies. Then his spirit goes back in time, and he sees his parents and their band. He hadn't gotten along with his dad during his life, so it's a different thing for him to see him as a teenager. He also tries to stop the death of his parents' best friend.
It's very very very good. Just the whole what is time thing that goes on.

I'm going to start Friday Night Lights. I don't know if I'll finish it, because it's so long. I may end up just watching the movie. :)
But I plan on catching up on some reading this weekend. Soccer practice takes up so much of my time these days!

Next Book--Uglies

In March we will be discussing Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I thought it was so interesting and thought provoking. I can't wait to hear what you will have to say!

Welcome!!

Welcome to our new bloggers!

I am excited to get some fresh voices and posts. I look foward to reading and participating in your discussions on any all topics that have to do with books and reading.

Just Finished...Currently Reading...Looking Forward

I just finished...
Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson, In Weaver Falls, New Hampshire, in 1975, seventeen-year-old Jocelyn looks for answers when her lifelong neighbor and friend, Gabe, turns up missing and she learns that, while her boyfriend has been telling everything to a priest, Gabe has been keeping terrible secrets. I enjoyed this one alot and it was a really quick read. I would highly recommend it.

Light Years by Tammar Stein, Maya Laor leaves her home in Israel to study astronomy at the University of Virginia after the tragic death of her boyfriend in a suicide bombing. I thought this novel was very good. I really felt Maya's fear and my hear went out to her. This was Stein's first novel and I look forward to reading what she writes in the future.

Currently Reading...
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers (Audio), Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam. I have been meaning to read this one since I was in 6th grade and all the cool boys were reading it and liking it. It really makes you think about war and how it really is. I would be curious as to whether or not Myers faught in Vietnam or who he based his characters on if anyone.

Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates, Sixteen-year-old Darren Flynn, a popular, good-looking high school athlete who lacks self-confidence, learns that his jock friends are hatching a revenge act against their English teacher for failing a member of the swim team. I just started this one and don't have an opinion about it yet. The chapters are really short which to me makes the novel a little chopped up.

Looking Forward To...
Night by Elie Wiesel, This month's Oprah Book Club pick. A true account of the author's experiences as a Jewish boy with his family in a Nazi concentration camp.

What have you all been reading lately?

Just Finished, Currently reading...

I just finished... um. Taming a Liger. Napoleon Dynamite devotional book... it was interesting.

Currently reading Same God, Different Churches. It's interesting to read about why there are different denominations, what each is like. Also reading poetry by various poets. Elias McConnell is pretty good (he was Eli in Elephant, if anyone has seen that movie, with the school shooting...)

I probably won't pick up another book for a little while. I'm swamped with homework, and getting ready for solo ensemble. And last minute college applications... Sorry I couldn't stop by the high school when I was in wisconsin!!