#28-31: Sookie Stackhouse Series

Since school got out, I have immersed myself in continuing to read Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series...the ones on which the HBO series True Blood is based (none of which I have watched).  So far I have read...

• #3:  Club Dead
• #4:  Dead to the World
• #5:  Dead as a Doornail
• #6:  Definitely Dead

Sookie is just so normal...well, if you disregard that she is a telepath and seems to continually encounter one major conflict after another.  I just like her character:  she is honest, caring, and shops at Wal-Mart!

Throughout these novels, Sookie, a barmaid by trade in Louisiana, continues to learn about the "others":  vampires, weres, shapeshifters, fairies, and witches.  She continues to love with a love (okay...maybe some lust involved also):  Bill, Eric, Quinn...Sam?  She continues to kick butt, righting wrongs and living to tell about it, as she remains loyal to family and the few friends she has due to her special powers of reading minds, which is one reason she enjoys hanging out with the others for their minds are more difficult for her to read. Some, even, impossible, for vampires are dead, and that includes their brains.

Recently released, the next installment...number 11...means that I have a few books to read to be current on this series...looking forward to seeing where Arkansas author Charlaine Harris takes her characters.  Just might say that I hope Bill's character takes a more positive turn!

Should you enjoy series, Harris writes other series:  Lily Bard...set in Shakespeare, Arkansas (the English teacher within me appreciates this!) and the Aurora Teagarden (have not read any of these...yet).

Enjoy the fantasy world of vampires and such?  I have read several, and this is my favorite.  Enjoy!

#27: Serena

In his novel Serena, author Ron Rash takes the reader to the logging woods of North Carolina in 1929 with newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton.  Cold, callous, and calculating...just to name a few c words, this couple will do anything to guarantee their own financial success.

The novel could easily have been named George and Serena or George, Serena, and Others, for the novel closely follows several characters.  Seldom do I read a book, though, where I do not like the main character, but Serena exhibits few morals or ethics, while murder and mayhem abound.

I purchased this book some time ago because of a teacher-recommendation. Then I let it set...until she posted on Facebook that this novel is being made into a movie.  Have to read the book before I can even think about watching the movie!  Right?  Therefore, as I read, I found myself mentally picturing how I would portray scenes on the big screen.  Many will want to watch this movie because of the historical context, and some will watch because of the logging angle.  Many will watch, though, to see Serena...and her horse and her trained eagle that rides on her arm.  Did I mention that this eagle is trained to kill snakes?

As I read the book, I commented to my husband that he should read the book.  He's a former logger and appreciates history....and this novel just seems to be more of a "guy" book, well, if you remove some of what my female friends refer to as "fluff."  Or maybe I am just attempting to stereotype the novel since it was just not my favorite read.

Maybe I just read to too soon after school was out and on a holiday weekend as I was sitting by the pool when I was really wanting to read one of those "fluffy" books mentioned above?  Maybe?

Would I want to watch the movie?  Yes.  Just to see if it follows the book.

#26: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Earlier in the school year, a student asked, "Mrs. Gillmore, have you ever read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?"

"No."

"You should.  It's not what you think it will be. It's really not a kid's book."

"For you, Nathan, I will read that book."

I did, and I agree:  this book is much more than a "kid's book."  An allegory?  A political response to the times?  I am sure support exists for both of these interpretations.

Lewis Carroll's story relates the journey that Alice takes upon falling down a rabbit hole, the characters she meets, and the changes...literally...that she must make.

This is also my first e-read on our Kindle.  I am attempting to read a few online this year...to save money and also to determine if I can overcome my addiction to the real thing:  books!  The verdict is still out on this decision!

Upon finishing this read, I related to Nathan that I had completed this fantasy, and we discussed how it can be read on a more sophisticated level.  Then, I commented that I could now watch the movie since I had read the book.  No, he was quick to inform me.  The new Johnny Depp movie is of Alice Through the Looking Glass.  Okay.  I now have it on the Kindle!

#25: The Road to Grace

Amazing.  Just what I needed after this very trying week.

Richard Paul Evans' new release The Road to Grace continues Alan Christofferson's walk across America, which he began after the death of his wife, the loss of his business and home.  During this nearly 1000 miles of his journey from South Dakota to St. Louis, Alan meets...and re-meets...some very interesting people and learns through them the importance of forgiveness...of both self and of others.

Richard Paul Evans' gift in truly enlivening his characters makes this a quick and memorable read.  You feel Alan.  You mourn with Alan.  You acknowledge with Alan.  I suspect the read will eventually forgive, accept.

This cover interests me, for the road seems to end...unless you turn around and come back.  Yes.  That happens in life, doesn't it?  Thank God for allowing us to backtrack!

Please consider giving some time to this series, for you will be blessed.  This is one of those series that I am already looking forward to re-reading.  Yes, it is that good.  Yes, I need that many blessings!

Now, to wait for the next installment to continue the walk...

#24: The Bean Trees

 

I stayed up until 1 AM to complete The Beans Trees....because it was simply that good!  This novel is our faculty book club's May-read.

This one took me a few chapters to become hooked.  Several teachers had commented how good this choice was, and, mentally, I was thinking, "Really?"  Then it happened; I could not put the book down.

Author Barbara Kingsolver tells the story of Taylor Greer, who, determined to not be statistic and be pregnant  before graduating high school, finds herself caring for a young child whose parent simply gave her to Greer as she is traveling across America in hopes of discovering who she is.

Along the way she learns an important lesson that resonated with me:

"For me, even bad luck brings good things...I threw out a rocker arm on my car and I got Turtle [the name she gives the baby].  I drove over broken glass on an off ramp and found Mattie...Do you know, I spent the first half of my life avoiding motherhood and tires, and now I'm counting them as blessings."

This book, I would love assign this as a whole-class read, especially to an all-female class (which we do not have in our school).  Such rich discussion could develop from the pages of this novel.  Her exquisite use of syntax, diction...loved the metaphor of the railroad track to a workings of the heart:  "creaky, chest cavity," "the artery of Tucson, you would have to say it is was a hardened one." (chapter five, page 72)

I very much look forward to our discussion on Monday in book club and hearing what nuggets the others gleaned from within these pages, what life lessons they learned or of which they were reminded.

This one receives five stars.  Yes, it is that good.  Enjoy!

23: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

For the online challenge of re-read the Harry Potter series, I just completed book four...quite the novel, all 734 pages of it!  I do appreciate when an author gives you your money's worth...AND so much better than the movie!

In this novel, we, the readers, learn about and attend the International Quidditch Cup and the Triwizard Tournament.  I remain ever amazed at J.K. Rowling's ability to continue to create such a world.  I did enjoy attending both!

I have enjoyed the re-read of all the novels in this series, thus far, but I must say this one is my favorite.  Why?

•  I enjoy watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione continue to mature.  Even though the three of them often do not agree, Ron is still what Harry would miss the most.
• I like the parts the other characters played:  Sirius and One-Eyed Moody. These two in particular seem to be guardian angels of sorts (I even like Moody's support...despite his...well, you know...)
• I appreciate the role Mrs. Weasley plays in Harry's life.  I loved it when she showed up to support him in the last phase of the Triwizard Tournament.  Having experienced the loss of my mom this year, I especially know how Harry felt when he realized that she would be there for him.  I, too, have been blessed with several Mrs. Weasley's in my life...a blessing, indeed!

This re-read reminds me the importance and power of multiple reads.  I had forgotten so many of the details.  Thus, as I read, I know the end...I just am re-learning the paths they choose to take to get there.  This lesson I take back into the classroom with me, for we are striving towards this same goal:  multiple reads, delving deeper into text's meaning.

It's not too late to join this challenge!  Enjoy!

April's Five Reads

18:  The Call of the Wild by Jack London

My second read of this novel; this time with my English 11, and again, I was pleased as my students complimented the story:  "It was actually a good book."  Yes!  Boys and girls alike made such comments.

The story of the dog Buck, we used this novel as the basis for answering the question "To what extent would you go to guarantee your survival?", for Buck certainly endured much as he was forced to journey the Klondike.  Through it all, through deceit, perseverance, manipulation, strength, he discovers what he will go through to not only guarantee his survival but to also find his true self.  That journey, for all of us, often leads through much.

19:  Guilty Wives by James Patterson

Interesting.  James Patterson tells the story of Abbie Elliot, a woman stronger than even she knew she was, and her three best friends as they are accused killing a very important dignitary, their subsequent imprisonment in a foreign country, and their fight for their lives and their innocence.

As I read, I could not help but think of women falsely accused and imprisoned and the total helplessness they must daily endure.  Maybe this was so heavy on my heard for having just read The Call of the Wild with the above essential question leading our discussions and the assigning of an essay that would help further answer that question.  My topic:  human trafficking.  Similar in many ways to what the characters in this novel endure.

This may be one of Patterson's better novels.  Again, maybe it was because of the connections I was making as I read, but this one I appreciated (started to type "enjoy"...really cannot say I enjoyed much of what Abbie went through).  I did appreciate, though, the tenacity, the strength of this female character.

20:  The Quilting Circle

This book I purchased at our Dollar Tree and read for a quick, relaxing read, enjoying every line of it!  The book includes four novellas all based on the same quilt that changes hands, travels to four ladies over time...written by four authors Jennifer Blake, Jo Anne Cassity, Linda Shertzer, and Christina Cordaire.

I love quilts, have collected several over the years:  family quilts made by both of my grandmothers and one by mother.  Very proud of these heirlooms. Hope to one day create such a piece of art.

I suppose what I liked the most (other than it being a easy read with action that kept my attention, for after a week at school, I simply enjoy such a break as this) was that an heirloom was that...something appreciated that had an impact on lives.

21.  1776 by David McCullough

Our sorta-new book club at school chose this book for our first group read.  I cannot say I would never have read this one without the motivation, for I had a copy of it in our home bookshelves (had bought it for the husband), but it was definitely way down the to-be-read stack.

Very glad we read this one.  Very.  I learned so much about that year in our history and those who had such a dramatic impact on that year's events...those on both sides of the ocean.

George Washington remains a favorite of mine.  (I read Washington's Lady last summer...still one of my favorite reads.)  While he was not always successful during this initial year of the war, he learned much from some very serious mistakes and trusted others enough to encourage and promote them.

I want to read more about him. I would really love to continue this studied emphasis of our Presidents, for my background in American history is just too weak.

Yes, I encourage you to read this one...proud to say that a dozen or more teachers read this book, all because once upon a time, I began a book club.

22:  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

I like Harry and his friends.  Just can't help it!  They have such a heart for others.

I am re-reading this series for an online challenge and am enjoying it very much.  I had forgotten so much. I am especially appreciating the embedding of details.  J.K.Rowing surely had the big picture created for this series before beginning to write it.

I also appreciate the author's writing.  The longer I teach writing and the more I read, the more I pay attention to writer's craft.  For sure, with each novel of hers, I have more to enjoy, for the length of each increases!  (Currently reading book four...over 700 pages!)