Tag Archive for books

Gravity by Scot Gardner

12/12/2011 Joh reading, work

The back cover of Gravity reads “Saturday night. Nowheresville.” How many teenage regional dwellers have this to say for the place they live in? I related to this story because I was busting to get out of here when I was a young person. I’d love a massage for every kid I’ve taught that has plans of heading elsewhere as soon as… I certainly didn’t have the heavy home life that Adam (the protagonist) lived with. His mum has already shot through.

I enjoyed this book. I have been meaning to read Scot Gardner’s books for a long time. He is a local author and I want to use some texts created in our area next year with my students. He names local towns that students are familiar with. I am aiming for connection. Not just to school, but to community and place. I’m not sure I will use this novel, cause I think it would be more relevant to older students. Scot Gardner has written many books so I’ll work my way through them and find a suitable one I’m sure.

Popularity: 1% [?]

One comment , , , , ,

Aleph by Paulo Coelho

18/11/2011 Joh reading

I am a fan of Paulo Coelho. I have read all his books and this latest ‘Aleph’ was a return to his writing about his personal and spiritual journey. He has written some great stories. The quest type stories are rich as his tales, yet different I think due to their personal nature. In this story he adventures on a train across Russia. There are many reflections about travel in this book.

I related to the start of the novel where he met with his ‘Master’ yet felt disillusioned and doubtful about his whole process. I really enjoyed the discussion about routine as I mentioned in a recent post about work I have recently noticed how my change of routine has given me my life back. I feel happier and more connected.:

“Go and re-conquer your kingdom, which has grown corrupted by routine. Stop repeating the same lesson because you won’t learn anything new that way.’ (pg9)

When I read those pages I knew the tale was for me. I haven’t travelled across continents and rediscovered past lives, recently, yet stepping out of the familiar routines doesn’t always need such things:).

 

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , , , ,

Ads R Us by Claire Carmichael

27/10/2011 Joh reading

‘Ads R Us’ is set in a dystopian world where advertising has taken control. In many ways like our own:). The main character, Barrett comes from ‘Simplicity’ an alternative lifestyle commune that rejects the ‘Chattering World’ he nows finds himself in. When his uncle, the founder of ‘Simplicity’ dies, he goes to live with his aunt.

Barrett’s sudden exposure to the new world reveals the manipulations and persuasions of advertising as he uncovers his value to his aunt and uncle. It has many themes including ‘cliques’ and popularity, privacy, personal freedom, power and corruption, materialism, addiction, all the things that come with a society that revolves around consumption.

I read this book with my Wednesday students. It’s the year 8 text at their school. In the US it’s been published under the title ‘Leaving Simplicity’.

Here is a Reading Guide from the authors web page.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , , , , ,

Cool for Cats by Jessica Adams

04/10/2011 Joh reading

Linda Tyler is existing. She’s a small town dweller engaged to a man who is as puzzled by her as she is uninspired by him. She’s an assistant cook at the local Chines restaurant and it’s the 70s. Food is not cool – music is.

She knows and loves music. Every memory is attached to a track. An ad in a music paper for a writing job leads her to a whole new life.

‘Cool for Cats’ is the story of the chaos and upheaval that setting off after your dreams can create. If you are familiar with music from that period, it’s an added bonus to the story. Jessica Adams brought back many of my own musical memories attached to the punk, new wave era.

I enjoyed the resolution of the story. It twisted into something I wasn’t expecting.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , ,

Strange Attractors by Kim Falconer

18/09/2011 Joh astrology, reading

Book Three of the ‘Quantum Enchantment’ series was the best yet. I put a lot of it down to becoming familiar with the characters and having a sense of the lands and time travel. These books are vastly interesting with a great mix of magic, technology, time travel and astrology.

I loved the twists in this book. The characters are interesting. This time I paid more attention and noticed An’ Lawrence was a Virgo p242:). Should have paid more attention in the first book and I could have won Mystic Medusa’s competition:). If you are into astrology you will love this series. I can’t wait to begin the next trilogy.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , ,

Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld

13/09/2011 Joh reading

I finished ‘Blue Moon’. It is the third and last in the Midnighters series. In this book the Midnighters find that all is not as it seems. A major threat is coming and the rules of midnight are changing. The whole world is at risk. Another point of view, one of an enemy, threatens history:

The odd thing was, whenever Rex read normal daylighter history, he never took the word of just one historian. You had to check with several sources – everybody knew that.

The team of five young people thrown together in this challenge have a variety of strengths and skills. They don’t all like one another. They have to trust each other. It makes interesting reading.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , ,

The Pipers Son by Melina Marchetta

02/09/2011 Joh love, reading

I finish this with a tear tracked face. I am glad I’m not wearing makeup on my days off or I would look pretty messy now.

‘The Piper’s Son’ is an immensely clever and touching tale about a young man rebuilding a life after grief drives him to oblivion. It’s not just him, it’s his whole family who experience loss. The story reveals the triumph of love and I loved it for it.

I texted my son because I remembered he had told me to read ‘Saving Francesca’ which has the same characters. He’d already been on to it. ‘finished it 3 weeks ago’ was the reply I got to my recommendation. Good to know he doesn’t wait around for me to recommend books to him any more:).

Melina Marchetta creates endearing characters. I just went through his boxes of books to find ‘Saving Francesca’ because starting a new book with those people I have grown to love will make the sadness of finishing ‘The Piper’s Son’ more bearable.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , ,

Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld

29/08/2011 Joh reading

The second in the Midnighters series was even better than the first. I read this post on Scott Westerfeld’s blog, a fan has a tattoo from the novel. That’s keen:).

Touching Darkness (Midnighters, Book 2) reveals more of the history of Bixby and introduces a Midnighter we haven’t met yet. I’ll share some of my favourite parts:

Didn’t any of these brainless wonders ever notice that TV shows were called programs? The same word that meant a bunch of numbers stuck into a computer to make it dance for its masters

pg 53

and then

‘In the summer of 1949, I had just turned eleven. We played all day until it grew dark, which in summer was very late. young children and teenagers together, while the adults sat on the porches, visiting. Everything was in the open, everyone could see each other.’……….

…….’Hang on – you’re saying you lost to the darklings because of air-conditioning?’

Madeleine lifted a finger sternly. ‘And television. You can’t discount television. You see, Dess after that first evening the adults stayed inside, watching Mr. Jack Benny instead of looking after our childish games.’

p155-156

I can’t wait to read the next in the series:)

 

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , , , , ,

Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

27/08/2011 Joh reading

‘Pay the Piper’ is a modern retelling of the ‘Pied Piper of Hamlyn’ fairytale. Years ago I read ‘Briar Rose’ by Jane Yolen, based on Sleeping Beauty. Briar Rose was a story about a young journalist’s connection with her grandmother, who told her many versions of the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ fairytale. It lead her to uncover her grandmother’s story by visiting Europe and gathering how she survived the holocaust. It was haunting and the modern retelling had quite a depth to it. I read it very quickly.

‘Pay the Piper’ was for a younger audience and again a young journalist (though for a school paper) in contemporary American town uncovers the truth about a musician(the piper). It is a different retelling than I have heard before and it was a fresh approach involving the fairy world and old stories that needed to be deciphered.

Jane Yolen has written over 300 books for young people.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , ,

Arrows of Time by Kim Falconer

08/08/2011 Joh reading

I have just finished reading this second in Kim Falconer’s Quantum Enchantment series. It took me a while because I’ve been busy and needed to concentrate on it. I got a bit lost with it in the beginning and couldn’t follow what was going on when I first started reading it. Later though when I had solid chunks of time to read, it all made sense, so I think it was more about my mind than about the book!

I really enjoyed the characters and the magical thinking in this book. It’s been a positive thinking reminder for me. Looking forward to the final in this series now.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , ,
« Older Entries