November Progress Report

November was a good month. I got a lot of great reading done. While I've been better about regular posting to this blog, I still can improve. Overall, a good go of it in a rough month. 

1. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (L) (11/7)
3. Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John (L) (11/22)
4. The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs (11/16)
5. The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs (11/21)
6. The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs
7. The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (B) (11/10)
8. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments)
9. Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings (L) (11/24)
10. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (L)
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (L)
12. City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
13. Year's Best SF12 ed David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
14. Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins
15. Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser (L) (11/12)
16. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (B)
17. Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson (L)
18. Rules by Cynthia Lord (L) (11/24)
19. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (L) (11/23)
20. The Writer's Workbook by Jenny Newman et al (NF)
21. Family by Micol Ostow (L)
22. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (L) (11/6)
23. Star 1 ed. Frederik Pohl
24. The Case Against Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl
25. Eric by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (L) (11/5)
26. Moving Pictures Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
27. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
28. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
29. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) * (RR)
30. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
31. The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan (L) (11/15)
32. Stiff by Mary Roach
33. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (L)
34. Down to the Bone by Justina Robson 
35. Mappa Mundi by Justina Robson (L)
36. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling 
37. Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
38. Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit (B) (11/1)
39. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (RR)
40. Where the Sidewalk Ends  by Shel Silverstein (RR)
41. Our Children's Children by Clifford D. Simak 
42. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan (L) (10/31)
43. An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage (NF)
44. The Short Reign of Pippin IV by Steinbeck (B)
45. The Amulet of Samarkand by Johnathan Stroud (The Bartimaeus Trilogy)
46. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (L) (11/25)
47. Window Boy by  Andrea White (L)
48. Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran (B)
49. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (L)

Thanksgiving - a Small Meditation

Little known fact - Thanksgiving isn't a strictly American holiday.

Way back in the day, it was common for a day of thanksgiving to be announced for any number of reasons and at any level of community. Days of Thanksgiving were announced for the births in the royal family. They were announced for good harvests, or near misses (think fires and floods). They were announced for things like peace treaties and successes in battles. There were quite a variety of them announced in early american history, and various libraries have the sermons preached in the little community churches. It was common and could happen at any time of year.  In fact, the Thanksgiving that we celebrate these days didn't become an official holiday until 1863. Over 200 years after the theoretical first thanksgiving of the pilgrims (1621).

Somewhere along the way the idea of Thanksgiving got generally tied up with our national holiday and with the Pilgrims. The history with the Pilgrims is really a little dodgy if you think about it. I mean it's great to be grateful to the Native Americans getting the Pilgrims through their first winter, but wouldn't it have been better to show that gratitude a little better? There's two sides to anything.

Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving. I love being with my family and celebrating each other. It just really never had anything to do with the Pilgrims. Their Thanksgiving has nothing to do with our Thanksgivings. In Abraham Lincoln's proclamation declaring the formation of the national holiday, there is no mention of the Pilgrims at all. Because it's not about that and it shouldn't be about that. It's about having and showing gratitude. Meaningful and real gratitude for things immediate to our lives and not some fictionalized candy floss dream of a time no one can personally remember and that we should perhaps look at more critically than we do.

So, I'm grateful. I'm grateful for my family and for my son. I'm grateful for my husband who is perhaps the most patient and generous man I know. I'm grateful that I found teaching. I'm grateful for my students. I'm grateful that I have my vision and I can read. I'm grateful that I had 35 years with my grandfather and that his passing in the end was gentle.

It's about gratitude people. Look around. No matter how unhappy we are or what bad things happen, there is something we should be grateful for.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder has a cover reminiscent of the Twilight Series. Which for me is not a selling point. I didn't much like Twilight personally. Of course, I'm all for anything that gets the kids reading and Twilight most assuredly did that.

Cinder is nothing like Twilight though.  I really liked it and managed to gulp it down in a single sleepless night of reading. The premise is that in the far far future, the world has had more wars and a lunar colony exists. Cinder is a cyborg and in virtual slave to her step mother and two step sisters. (Yes, indeed this is a fractured fairy tale.)

Two things knock Cinder out of the status quo. First, Cinder is apparently the best mechanic in the city and this leads to meeting Prince Kai who desperately needs his android fixed. Of course, Prince Kai is enchanted by Cinder and doesn't know she's a cyborg. (Cyborgs aren't considered people in the same sense as those with all their fleshy bits intact) Second, Peony, Cinder's youngest stepsister, gets the incurable plague that overlays the whole plot.

Soon, Cinder finds out just how monstrous her step mother can be.

Cinder is full of intrigue and simmering mysteries that drive the plot. While many of the plot twists were somewhat predictable the writing style is compelling and keeps interest high.  A solid read and I plan to follow up with the rest of the series.

The Five Flavors of Dumb by Anthony John

Yet another discovery in my quest to fill in the gaps on my LD Reading Ladder. And an another great book that doesn't quite fit. Maybe I need to rethink my theme.

The premise of The Five Flavors of Dumb is that Piper, who happens to be deaf, somehow ends up managing a rock band her High School. This is challenging for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with her deafness. I have to admit, I thought this was a ridiculous premise and, as a consequence, didn't expect much.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Of all the disabilities I work with in my job, deafness confounds me the most. It affects a surprising number of people. There is a strong genetic component and as a result there are whole multi-generational deaf families. Many of these people don't view it as a disability and a whole "deaf culture" has sprung up. I have to admit that I have a hard time viewing the lack of an ability that most other people possess as anything but a disability. It's hard to wrap my head about. On the other hand, I don't necessarily view dwarves as disabled just because they "lack height." Disability is a mind-set after-all and who am I to judge?

The reason for this reflection, however, is that functioning in society and the nature of deaf culture is one of the underpinning themes of the novel. On the surface it's about these five musicians, one of which is a complete rancid jerk, being dysfunctional while a deaf girl tries to hold them together. And that's a good story, but the more subtle lines about disability and family are way more compelling.

This book features a strong female protagonist struggling less with her disability, and more with getting to know her own feelings about how she fits into her family and the rest of the world. The plot line is strictly linear and chapters are relatively short. The author is british, which means much of the humor tends towards the dry and subtle. All and all a solid read.

The Wonder World - Palacio

Every once and a while I finish a stand alone novel and wish there were more. It's not an uncommon thing for writers to write additional short stories and vignettes in a beloved world. However, they often go unpublished or languish in some collection somewhere that only printed 200 copies. Palacio made it easy, she published them...or at least three of them. None of them stand well on their own, but they are great supplements to Wonder once you've read that.

Julian - is a lost chapter from the perspective of the bully. Julian is the kid who just can't adjust to the way Auggie looks and lashes. Most of the real action of the chapter happens after Wonder concludes when Julian is in France with his grandmother. I liked this chapter because, while it didn't excuse Julian's actions, it went a good ways into offering an explanation for why bullies do what they do.

Pluto - is about Auggie's oldest friend Chris. Oddly enough, while Auggie is definitely a part of Chris's story, this chapter is really entirely about Chris. What does it mean to be a friend of someone living with disfigurement? How do you protect them? Should you? These are tough questions for adults. Being a middle schooler and having to figure them out is probably tougher

Shingaling - is about Charlotte. Charlotte, like Julian and Jack Will, was made a welcome buddy to Auggie at the beginning of the school year. I think that Charlotte tends to represent how most people respond to these sorts of issues. She is not cruel to Auggie the way Julian is, but she also doesn't really befriend him either the way Jack Will and Summer do. She sort of hovers in a vaguely genial neutrality which is what I think most people end up doing. She's not a bad person at all, she just gets uncomfortable and doesn't know what to do. So, she does nothing really. I think most of us find ourself there. It takes courage to invite attention and comment by befriending the uncomfortable. That's what makes Shingaling such an important addition to the Wonder collection.

All three chapters have since been collected into a single volume called Auggie & Me. They are all a worthwhile read.

NCTE Conference

So, this is my first experience at a large scale professional conference. I've been to our local Independent School conference loads but that's tiny compared to this. I really had no idea what to expect.

Tip #1 dress comfortably and no one cares if you wear jeans

It's overwhelming. It's like being at Dragon Con but calmer. There's tons going on and somehow I have to select 5 sessions maximum a day out of 250 offerings...crazy.

Tip #2 if you are feeling stressed out, find someone to help. Helping others is an excellent anxiety drain.

The exhibitor hall alone is worth the price of admission. The place is absolutely lousey with publishers, authors, and literary agents. It's like being in a giant whirlpool of geeky-cool. I actually trod on Sharon Draper's foot....she was very nice about it.  And I got to shake the hand of Jason Reynolds....Squee!

Tip #3 always keep a hand free for shaking

The Sessions themselves were generally pretty top-tier. I went to one on differentiation of Shakespeare instruction. Brilliant!! I will do it all! I went to one that was run completely by higher education professionals explaining to us high school schmoes what they are seeing from our students when they get to college. Actually they were very nice and frank about admitting where the colleges could be doing better too. From this though I have an idea for block scheduling a couple days with science for close reading practice on textbooks.

Tip #4 don't get so excited you don't eat

But maybe better than all that. I was surrounded by 3000 people who get as geeky about books as I do. I've never -repeat never- had that before. I jumped in and out of conversations about the merits of adaptations of shakespeare into YA lit, socially active material, dealing with parent concerns on subject matter. I actually got to butt heads with someone on the merits of handing of Tolkien vs. Rowling as an entry point to fantasy literature. I always felt like such a freak when it came to books as a passion. I guess if I am, I'm not the only one.

Tip #5 remember to smile

An Extemporaneous Poem

I am the sand after the sea
     streaked with salt
     detritus littered
The leavings of the Tide.

The House With the Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

This is a book Ryan bought for me to read in aid of my general goal of getting a handle on a broader base of YA lit. Published in 1973, this book is a great deal older than many of the things I've been reading and so describes a world that many of my students would find odd, even above the ideas of magic clocks and wizarding uncles.

Lewis's parents have died and as a result he must now live with his notorious Uncle Jonathan. Jonathan lives in huge house in Zeebedee, Michigan. Jonathan is also a wizard. Lewis is overweight and awkward. He doesn't play sports and he doesn't make friends easily. So when he does make a friend, Tarby, he'll do anything to keep a hold of him. This includes sharing the secret of his uncle's power and trying a few tricks of his own.

Of course, things go wrong. Ancient evils unleashed. All that fun stuff.

Good solid read with a well imagined world. In many ways the relationships between the characters make it seem like a precursor to Harry Potter.

The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

It has been a while since the last time I followed a series as it was actually being written. My usual modus operandi is to wait until and author's finished and then read the thing in one big gulp. Reading that way, those little tricks an author uses to remind the reader what happened in the previous book were annoying because I'd just read the previous book.  However, I read book 1, Sword of Summer, in January. It's been close to a year because I had to wait for Riordan to write the next book. It was an interesting experience. I found myself floundering around a little trying to remember how things left off. Definitely a different way of reading.

So, Magnus Chase has had six glorious crisis-free months off, but alas all things end. A mysterious goat killing assassin interrupts a coffee appointment with Samirah the Valkyrie and he's off again battling with giants and assorted elves, gods, and dwarves to find the Hammer of Thor and stop Loki.

Alex, the new character, is another child of Loki like Samirah is a somewhat enigmatic figure in the beginning. Violent and angry, she/he walks around with a virtual keep away sign on her forehead.  However she/he is an interesting exposure to the idea of gender fluidity.

All in all it's a good read. It seems like Riordan is trying to use his books to promote tolerance on some real world issues which is a good thing. Downsides, this was a hefty book and the narrative wasn't as tight as in previous books. It came in at around 450 pages and could have, should have probably, been 350. This is why good editors are important kiddos.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (revisited)

Dear Everyone,

Do you remember when I wrote a post about the random nature of the Universe about a month ago? Well it continues to be "random." By which I mean, I seem to be jumping from catastrophe to catastrophe. I think it is wearing me down because I've been sick much more than usual.

I don't really want to get into a tirade of negativity so I'm not going to get into specifics. However, I do have a bad tendency to navel gaze. Otherwise known as introspection when done in a healthy way, navel gazing is a form of self-absorption and I try to avoid it. I feel myself sliding into it and damnit, I'm not going there.

There are a lot of good things going on amidst the bad. So, I'm going to start lining up projects to keep myself busy. Here's what I got so far:

• mulching the front "lawn" until the spring
• planning out next spring's expanded garden
• Sourcing materials for said garden
• Build composer
• Finish hanging the last 4 curtain rods
• Clearing brush from back yard for primary path
• yanking kudzu and English ivy off the trees
• Organizing and cleaning basement post flooding catastrophe
• waterproof painting basement wall
• Finish retaining wall
• Repaint back bathroom with mold retardant paint
• Get better fan for bathroom

That's enough to keep me busy....right?

Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser

Tara Sullivan can't explain why she does the things she does. She can't explain why she has to count cracks or line up grains of rice before eating them. She doesn't know why she has to confess every sin or pray every time someone swears. She knows it's weird and that no one else has to do it. Maybe she's crazy. Her parents certainly seem to think so and she can't really argue.

Things get worse and worse until a family friend finally steps in.

Published in 1998, the public was much less aware of OCD so reading this was a little weird. It's not really a novel that focuses on story. It reads more like a fictionalized diary or personal testimony. I suspect the author wrote it as an educational tool, in fact. Window into the Obsessive-Compulsive mind, or some such.

It's only about 150 pages in hardcover so it's a quick read. It's an interesting voice and it definitely conveys the helplessness of dealing with these compulsions. However, it's jarring the way the book assumes that most people are completely unaware of what OCD is.

In a post-Monk world, I think everyone has a passing familiarity with what OCD is. It leaked into our language, and we self apply it when we are being super detail oriented about something. It's lazy language and most people don't fully understand the horror of it, but at least they are aware of it as a thing that happens.

Eh. It's a decent book, but I can't think of who I would recommend it to.

The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

bwahahahaha I did it, I finally did it. I finished the book! The Chessmen of Mars is the last book in the big John Carter Omnibus that my dad bought for himself last Christmas and immediately handed to me to read. It is now almost Thanksgiving. It took me a year. Me! . . . A Year!

Honestly, they are fun books but they are so formulaic that I just couldn't read them back to back. Hence the long slog. Any way, on to the review!

The Chessmen of Mars is about John Carter's daughter, Tara of Helium. Tara is a brat. She's a real spoiled pain in the butt. So I admit when she got her self blown into a far off land as the result of a temper tantrum, I uttered a small but malicious giggle. In a weird way, The Chessmen of Mars is a twisted little coming of age novel. Tara matures from that spoiled little brat into admirable strong woman.

The main love interest for this one is a Jed from a far off land named Gehan. I liked him way more than Tara for most of the book. This novel also introduces a weird new insectoid species calling themselves the Kaldanes of Bartoom that have an odd symbiotic relationship with a headless humanoid animal they call rykors.

So, all in all good escapist stuff.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak is a hard book to read. It's not tough because of vocabulary level or sentence structure. It's tough because of content. It originally turned up on my reading list as part of my exploration for my LD reading ladder. This book has absolutely nothing to do with learning disorders. It is a good book though.

Melinda Sordino has a secret and it's tearing her apart. The reason she's an outcast, the reason her grades are terrible, and the reason she skips class to hang out in an abandoned janitor's closet all come back to this secret. She doesn't even want to admit it to herself and she bites through her lips to stay silent.

Her friends can't help her because she's never told them what happened. She can't speak.

This is an excellent book for young women to read. The statistics say that 1 out of every 4 teenage girls experiences sexual abuse in some way (1 out of every 6 boys, by the way, too). Clearly it's a woefully common issue for teenage girls and it happens at a time when many girls feel alienated from adult support.

I'm not saying a good book is a substitute for adult intervention and support. But I do think that books help us process difficult ideas and events.  This is not a book I would idly recommend to just any student. Certainly it is aimed more firmly at females and the subject matter is a little alarming. However, it has a solid treatment of the issue and the kind of feelings that can result. While the end is perhaps a little more "sunny" than I think the story necessarily warrants, it also emphasizes the need for communication and action.

This is a solid novel and worthy of its awards.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This is another student recommendation although it was already on my list as a consideration for a reading ladder. I gulped it down in about one evening, so it is a good involving read.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with an unfortunate combination of genetic disorders that made his craniofacial structure severely deformed but left his intellect intact. He's a pretty normal kid coping with a pretty abnormal situation.

After many many surgeries, Auggie is finally ready to go to an actual school. He's still pretty disfigured though. So there is a lot of anxiety about how his classmates will react. Predictably, it's a mixed bag. Some kids really step up. Some descend into bullying the "weird kid." After years of working in a high school, it's kind of what I would expect to happen.

Palacio bounces around from point of view to point of view. While Auggie's voice is really interesting and engaging, I almost enjoyed the sections from Summer, Via, and Jack's point of view more. It's easy to forget how disabilities affect more than just the disabled person. These glimpses into the minds of the other teens are interesting because it's a reminder that even a nice kid screws up. Strong people have weak moments.

This is a good pick for Middle School and High School. The ideas, though complex, are expressed simply and without melodrama. Because of the multiple points of view, the story isn't completely linear which could cause confusion in a struggling reader.

FIts and starts

I'm having difficulty with Nanowrimo. Really it's pretty stupid and I get frustrated with my students when they do this, but . . .

So, I was hot to trot and good to go on Nov 1st, wrote 900 words in my morning session. When I went back to it in the afternoon, it was gone. Some sort of saving glitch. It's just 900 words, I know that, but now I'm just having the worst difficulty getting back in the swing. Maybe I need to switch ideas...I don't know.

It's getting the best of me. I know that, but I'm just so darned discouraged.

The Wilfrid Boxes

I have a coworker who is downsizing his house and needed to offload some books. He generously gave many of them to me. Some of them will be headed into the classroom library, many of them I'm going to read first. Below is the list of books. There are some incomplete series and a few that I've read before, but mostly I don't know these books or authors even if I'm familiar with their names. It's not my current reading list but there are so many here that I'm not sure where to start. If y'all have any input or recommendations of a good set to start will, let me know!

1. The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
2. Sharra's Exile by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
3. The Shattered Chain by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
4. Thendara House by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
5. City of Sorcery by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
6. The Shadow Matrix by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
7. Traitor's Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
8. Stormqueen! by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
9. Hawkmistress! by Marion Zimmer Bradley (Darkover)
10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
11. Dhalgren by Samuel Delany
12. Deathstalker Honor by Simon R. Green
13. Silver Moons, Black Steel by Tara K. Harper
14. Rhapsody by Elizabeth Hayden
15. Prophecy by Elizabeth Hayden
16. St. Patrick's Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz
17. In the Hall of the Dragon King by Stephen R. Lawhead (Dragon King 1)
18. The Warlords of Nin by Stephen R. Lawhead (Dragon King 2)
19. The Sword and the Flame by Stephen R. Lawhead (Dragon King 3)
20. Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn
21. Druids by Morgan Llywelyn
22. Silverhand by Morgan Llywelyn and Michael Scott (Arcana 1)
23. The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
24. Nimisha's Ship by Ann McCaffrey
25. Pegasus in Space by Anne McCaffrey
26. Acorna: the Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
27. The Chrome Borne by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
28. Power Lines by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
29. Power Play by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
30. Sky Dragons by Todd McCaffrey
31. The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E. McKenna
32. Once a Hero by Elizabeth Moon
33. Rules of Engagement by Elizabeth Moon
34. Against the Odds by Elizabeth Moon
35. The King of Swords by Michael Moorcock (Third Book of Corum)
36. The Bull and Spear by Michael Moorcock (fourth Book of Corum
37. The War Amongst the Angels by Michael Moorcock
38. The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
39. The Ringworld Throne by Larry Niven
40. Saturn's Race by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
41. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
42. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
43. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
44. Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
45. Dragonquest by Donita K. Paul
46. Stronghold by Melanie Rawn (Dragon Star 1)
47. The Dragon Token by Melanie Rawn (Dragon Star 2)
48. Skybowl by Melanie Rawn (Dragon Star 3)
49. The Mageborn Traitor by Melanie Rawn (Exiles 2)
50. Exiles by Melanie Rawn (Ruins of Ambrai 1)
51. A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo
52. The Ganymede Club by Charles Sheffield
53. My Brother's Keeper by Charles Sheffield
54. The Hollow Man by Dan Simmons
55. Field of Dishonor by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
56. Flag in Exile by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
57. War of Honor by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
58. Mission of Honor by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
59. On Basilisk Station by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
60. Honor Among Enemies by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
61. The Short Victorious War by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
62. The Honor of the Queen by David Weber (Honor Harrington)
63. Changer of Worlds  by David Weber (Worlds of Honor 3)
64. Path of the Fury by David Weber
65. The Apocalypse Troll by David Weber
66. In Enemy Hands by David Weber
67. Ashes of Victory by David Weber
68. At All Costs by David Weber
69. March Upcountry by David Weber and John Ringo
70. March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo
71. Flash Gordon on the Lost Continent of Mongo by Al Williamson

Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

It would seem that with the end of The Warlord of Mars, John Carter's stint as a main character is over. Thuvia, Maid of Mars's protagonist is John Carter's son Carthoris. It seems a little odd to me that as devoted to John Carter as Thuvia was that Burroughs is now setting her up with the son, but that is clearly what is happening.

The book opens with a love triangle. Thuvia is promised to Kulan Tith but she is very careful to never say that she loves him. It's painfully obvious that she has feelings for Carthoris so the whole scene is awkward and stilted. If that's not enough, Thuvia has also captured the heart of a very ill-mannered Prince Astok. When he tries to force his attentions on Thuvia, Carthoris rescues her...aggressively.

Rebuffed and humiliated, Astok kidnaps Thuvia and frames Carthoris for it. By doing so, he throws three kingdoms at each other's throats.

Then follows the usual chases, captures, and escapes.

Actually, there's more in this one in the way of intrigue and plot...there is still plenty of action, but it's not a pure action-fest. In some ways, I found this the most enjoyable of the series so far.

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Ok, so this is another book that Ansley handed to me... and then got pretty feisty with me until I read it.  (And I thought I was a demanding promoter of lit, sheesh) I have to admit the girl has good taste in literature.

A few years back I got a little done with what I've been calling Holocaust Lit. It's not that I think it's overrated, or bad, or even boring. I just don't enjoy reading it. I can handle sad tragic lit. I love a good cry when I'm not crying over me. The Holocaust though, is on a completely different level from run of the mill tragedy. The reality is that most human tragedy is caused by the people/victims involved. Their choices, while ultimately flawed, make sense to us which is the source of the pathos.

The Holocaust was not tragic in that sense. Nothing those people/victims did warranted or invited what happened to them. It was a senseless reminder of how close to mindless beasts we still are. People talk about it like it couldn't happen any more, but I look at our current political situation here and I feel that we are all too close.

I'm getting off point.

Anna and the Swallow Man is set in Poland right after the Nazis rolled in and carted off all the intellectuals. Anna's father is an intellectual. A linguist to be precise. Anna, as his daughter, already speaks five or six languages by the time she is seven and her father simply disappears. Now a seven year old alone in Nazi Occupied Poland shouldn't stand a chance of survival, but a chance encounter with a strange spindly man with chameleon like powers of adaptation leads to an informal adoption. The pair tramp around the Polish wilderness living off the land and gently swindling people into giving them what they otherwise need. A moving target is hard to find, after all.

The Swallow Man is a vaguely sinister figure. While it is clear that he truly cares of Anna, I never find myself feeling comfortable with their relationship. Perhaps that's the point. Under those circumstances, what does trust really  look like.

I haven't really absorbed the ending yet. I'm not sure what Savit was getting at with it, but the book as a whole is a worthwhile read. Even with my issues reading Holocaust Lit, I found myself drawn in enough to finish it in a an evening.

Counting By 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The first reading ladder I'm putting together is thematically organized around protagonist types. My first ladder all has protagonists with some form of learning disability. When I finish it, I'll blog it out for y'all. However, I have some gaps so I'm doing a lot of research and reading to find books that can fill it in. 

Counting by 7's was my first attempt. Willow Chance is 12, freakishly smart, and almost completely unconcerned with what teen-age culture says "fitting in" looks like. She is highly knowledgeable in botany, almost encyclopedic on medical knowledge, and learned vietnamese for fun. Willow is smart. She's probably meant to be autistic. She is also adopted, and, when her adoptive parents die in a horrific car crash, her world is turned upside down.

Willow has to navigate the world of California's Child Services. All she has going for her is her incredible intelligence, her friend Mai (who lends her her family), and a semi-competent school counselor named Del. Del, incidentally, is a woeful case of the blind leading the blind. 

Every character is flawed but well meaning and if it all falls together a little too easily, it is also a good quick read with some beautiful moments. There's some good contemplation on the meaning and nature of grief and on what 'family' really means. 

This is a good solid read for a precocious middle schooler. The reading level is solidly in the middle range but the ideas are pretty sophisticated. Thematically, I don't think it's a good fit for my LD ladder, but it's definitely worthy of inclusion on a ladder...maybe about coping with loss or cross cultural friendship.

November's Novels Between Novelling

Alright guys. It's here. Nanowrimo. Experience has taught me that if I'm going to write, I must also read. I'm not sure why that should be so, but it most definitely is. However, at the breakneck pace of Nanowrimo it's easy to put reading aside. I know I can't do that and keep going. However, my reading pace will most definitely slow down. When my pace slows, it becomes much more likely that I will lose interest and drop a book. So, with all that in mind, here is my list for November. It is heavily weighted towards quick reads and YA fiction. Many of the titles were also on October's list, but there are many new ones out from the library as well.

1. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
2. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (L)
3. Five Flavors of Dumb by John Antony (L)
4. The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs
5. The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
6. The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs
7. The Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (B)
8. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments)
9. Blindsided by Priscilla Cummings (L)
10. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (L)
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (L)
12. City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
13. Year's Best SF12 ed David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
14. Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins
15. Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser
16. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (B)
17. Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson (L)
18. Rules by Cynthia Lord (L)
19. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (L)
20. The Writer's Workbook by Jenny Newman et al (NF)
21. Family by Micol Ostow (L)
22. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (L)
23. Star 1 ed. Frederik Pohl
24. The Case Against Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl
25. Eric by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
26. Moving Pictures Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
27. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
28. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) (B)
29. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (Discworld) * (RR)
30. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
31. The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan (L)
32. Stiff by Mary Roach
33. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (L)
34. Down to the Bone by Justina Robson 
35. Mappa Mundi by Justina Robson (L)
36. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling 
37. Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
38. Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit (B)
39. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (RR)
40. Where the Sidewalk Ends  by Shel Silverstein (RR)
41. Our Children's Children by Clifford D. Simak 
42. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan (L)
43. An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage (NF)
44. The Short Reign of Pippin IV by Steinbeck (B)
45. The Amulet of Samarkand by Johnathan Stroud (The Bartimaeus Trilogy)
46. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (L)
47. Window Boy by  Andrea White (L)
48. Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran (B)
49. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (L)