xuesheng's 1010 challenge

I'm going to give this a try. My number of books per year has really suffered lately with two young kids and full time work, but I'm optimistic that I can read at least 3 books in each category. Here are my categories:

1. Off the Shelf
Books that I own that have been sitting on the shelf and need to be read

2. On the List
I've been building a to read list for 8 - 9 years--time to move some off that list

3. The Middle Kingdom - Fiction
Fiction set in China

4. The Middle Kingdom - Nonfiction
Non-fiction set in China

5. Adoption
Any books about adoption whether fiction or non-fiction

6. What-Ever!
So I can read whatever I feel like reading

7. Kids and Parenting
Books about kids and parenting that can be either fiction or non-fiction

8. Race
Any book that discusses race or racial issues

9. Travelers
Books about traveling anywhere in the world

10. Taking Care of Business 1001 Children's Books
Books that are in the 2009 version of 1001 Children's Books You Must Read before You Grow Up

Changed "Parenthood' to "Kids and Parenting" on January 16, 2010b

Off the Shelf:

1. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser - completed 1/3/2010
2.
3.

On the List:

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling - completed 11/30/2010
2.
3.

The Middle Kingdom - Fiction:

1. The Desert Wolf by Guo Xuebo - completed 3/15/2010
2.
3.

The Middle Kingdom - Nonfiction:

1. Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah - completed 1/7/2010
2. Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows - completed 11/15/2010
3.

Adoption:

1. Lucky Girl - by Mei-Ling Hopgood - completed 1/25/2010
2. Forever Lily - by Beth Nonte Russell - completed 12/13/2010
3.

What-Ever!

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - completed 1/16/2010
2. The Age of Orphans by Laleh Khadivi - completed 9/30/2010
3.

Kids and Parenting:

1. The Connected Child by Karyn Purvis, et. al. - completed 01/12/2011
2.
3.

Race:

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang - completed 11/24/2010
2.
3.

Some possibilities: The Bluest Eye, Sundown Towns, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Travelers:

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - completed 7/2/2010
2.
3.

Possibilities: West with the Night, The Worst Journey in the World, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven

1001 Children's Books:

1. A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman - completed 1/10/10
2. Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban, Pictures by Garth Williams - completed 1/12/10
3. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White - completed 8/31/2010

I finished Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser today. I started it in December but count my books by the year in which they are finished. This book was part of my "Off the Shelf" category so one down there...Yea!

What an informative book! I learned much about the beginning of fast food industry and its impact on food production. The author, Eric Schlosser, presents the information in two sections titled “The American Way” and “Meat and Potatoes.”

In “The American Way,” Schlosser provides a history of fast food restaurants focusing mostly on Carl’s and McDonalds. He talks about the fast food workforce and restaurant policies towards them. He also shows the connection between Ray Kroc and Disney and compares their business processes emphasizing marketing to children.

“Meat and Potatoes” talks mostly about food production and how it has changed over the years. For me, this is the most disturbing part of the book because it provides information on how our food is produced not just that for the fast food industry. The chapters on meat packers and meat packing plants reminded me of Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and Schlosser mentions this comparison several times.

I’m definitely glad to have finally read this book (it’s been sitting on my shelf for years now). It definitely makes me think differently about fast food and restaurant meals and general food safety and production.

Modified to include review. January 16, 2010

I finished Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah on January 7. Here is my review:

Adeline Yen Mah should have had an easy life. She was the second daughter and fifth child of a very wealthy Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong businessman, Joseph Yen. However, a few weeks after she was born her mama died from puerperal fever. After her mother's death, her father became obsessed with and married Jeanne Prosperi, a woman of French and Chinese descent, that the children were instructed to call niang, another term for mother. Niang along with her husband's consent and participation was a manipulative woman who kept the family in a state of emotional turmoil. As the children grew, she often pitted them against each other for no apparent reason than her own gratification.

If not for her Ye Ye (paternal grandfather), aunt and, later, her second husband, Adeline would not have anyone who nurtured and loved her. Her aunt encouraged and celebrated her educational successes and through this Adeline eventually became a successful anesthesiologist.

What is my reaction to the book? I thought it was interesting, incredible and difficult. Interesting in that it’s the story of a family’s life during major historical events in China and Hong Kong. I use incredible because the level of treachery and betrayal in the Yen family is almost unbelievable. Except for Susan, the youngest daughter of Joseph and Niang who was disowned for telling her mother what she thought of her, the rest of the children continued to allow themselves to be spun within Niang's web throughout their lives—either because of filial responsibility or to ensure that they received their inheritance. So my final word is difficult—difficult reading passages where Adeline, the ever filial daughter, sought love, acceptance and family togetherness and was often duped and betrayed.

I'm going to remove my "Taking Care of Business" category and replace it with "1001 Children's Books." These are the books that are listed in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read before You Grow Up. I should be able to get a lot of books in this category. Any books that would have fallen within "Taking Care of Business" can be covered in "What-Ever!"

It almost seems unfair to count this one since it is so short and easy, but I completed A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman today. My daughter brought it home for her weekend reading book. I read it to myself first and then she read it to me.

My review:
While at the laundromat with Lisa, Corduroy realizes that he doesn't have a pocket and decides he needs to make one. His search leads to a series of adventures at the laundromat. Very cute story!

Do others count short, easy books like this in their challenges?

>15 xuesheng:

Do others count short, easy books like this in their challenges?

Some do, some don't. It really just depends on what you want for your own challenge. My rule -- for myself -- is that I don't count books of fewer than 60 pages OR that take me less than an hour to read. I sometimes list them, for my own information or because I want to comment on them, even when I don't count them. And I've counted books that just barely meet my minimum requirements. You should do whatever you're comfortable with.

The Corduroy book does sound cute. I'll have to keep it in mind for my granddaughter.

I'm really interested in your categories about China, and will be watching to see what you read.

I've already counted a graphic novel for one of my categories. I can sympathise with your feeling of cheating a little but as long as it fits in with your challenge and you've read it then why not count it? It's your thread and you make the rules after all.

Thanks for your replies! I probably will keep track of the books since they fall under the 1001 list, but I will read more in that category if I'm using mostly young children's literature.

>16 ivyd:
I have lots of unread books about China so I'm hopeful to get through some of them. Likely some of my other categories will highlight books about China too.

>17 AHS-Wolfy:
I also have a graphic novel that I will likely count in my Race category, American Born Chinese, so thanks for commenting on including graphic novels.

American Born Chinese is a great book. And a fairly thick one for a graphic novel, so you don't need to feel any guilt there.

#19 Glad to hear it's great. I got the recommendation from some other groups I'm on. I'm looking forward to it.

I completed The Picture of Dorian Gray yesterday. I never would have picked it up had it not been for the Group Reads. Very glad that I did. Here's my review:

I'm glad that I read this book. I know the basic story of The Picture of Dorian Gray because it has become part of culture by being copied, referenced and parodied in TV, movies and other books. As a result of giving his soul to remain youthful, Dorian's picture ages and shows the results of his hedonistic lifestyle while Dorian does not. However, I didn't know the details of Dorian's life--what led him to his lifestyle and the nature of it.

In regard to the book, I did have some problems with it. Until Chapter 12 and excepting Dorian's original act that started his life of corruption, I was never sure if I understood the lifestyle that Dorian lived. Wilde strongly hinted at it, but I was constantly wondering if I missed something in what I read or if Wilde had intentionally left Dorian's acts vague so that the readers could fill in the blanks. However, beginning with the 12th chapter and continuing after, Wilde becomes more explicit and provides more detail of Dorian's actions.

Also, I could have done without most of Chapter 11. In this chapter, Wilde goes into great detail about his character's obsession with unique musical instruments, jewels, tapestries and Roman Catholic vestments. I really didn't get the point of the chapter.

Except for these issues, I enjoyed the book and am very glad I read it. I can now say I know the full story of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

I finished reading Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood on January 25 but had a difficult time writing a review. Today, I finally decided to write a brief one. Here it is:

A very interesting memoir about a young women, adopted as a baby from Taiwan, who is practically thrown together with her birth family in her early twenties. Mei-Ling uses her journalism training to find out more about her birth family and their secrets and because of it, isn't afraid to ask the hard questions of her birth parents and her biological sisters. I recommend this book especially for those interested in the adoption triad and first family reunions.

Oh my! I've been away from here for so long, and I haven't been able to read much. However, here is a review for The Desert Wolf that I completed in March...my post is just 4 months late.

This book is made of four novellas: “The Desert Wolf,” “The Sand Fox,” “Sand Rites,” and “Sand Burial.” All four stories take place on the Horqin Sandlands on the edge of the barren desert and tell of the struggles of both animals and humans in the desert. There are some mystical elements to the stories, and I enjoyed all of these stories.

The Desert Wolf is the story of a family (father, daughter, and grandson) and their strange connection to a female wolf. A researcher crosses in search of a mythical city, crosses the old man’s path and learns of their sadness and their bizarre story.

The Sand Fox tells the story of a man, Old Sandy, and his daughter and their work trying to combat desertification and to protect the existing wildlife. The village elder makes a visit to hunt wildlife but doesn’t understand how tenuous the survival of the animals is nor the connection of Old Sandy to them.

In Sand Rites, we read about two shamans, one male and one female, and another researcher who comes to record the historic Mongolian dance called the Andai. There is a long connection between the two and the researcher wants the male shaman to perform the Andai, but he is obsessed with growing red broom corn millet in the sandlands.

The final story is “Sand Burial” and it tells the story of a monk and a man, a banished intellectual, who comes to the desert to study the plants found there. The story is told from the perspective of the man’s ex-wife who comes into the desert to find out what happened to her ex-husband and the monk’s white dog/wolf.

This book is reminiscent of a Jack London novel. I found the setting fascinating since I know so little of this area of China and the stories to be very interesting. I recommend this book if one can find a copy of it.

I added The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society to Travelers. I'm stretching a little including it in this category, but Juliet Ashton did travel to Guernsey, so it counts for me. I loved this book...really, really loved the characters and hearing about their lives. My brief review:

I didn't read the book--I listened to it. What a pleasure it was to listen to this book! The actors did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. Each day, I really looked forward to my drives to and from work just so that I could catch up with the characters and their lives. In my opinion, any recorded book that causes one to look forward to a daily commute is an amazing work.

My daughter and I read Charlotte's Web together. I read it when I was a child, but if was quite fun to revisit with my daughter.

Last night my daughter and I finished our joint reading of Charlotte's Web. For me, our joint trip into this book was like saying 'hello' to an old friend. I love this classic tale of friendship and love between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider. I haven't read it since I was a child, but my memory of the story of the two friends, the rest of the barnyard ensemble and the Zuckerman and Arable families hadn't faded. I attribute my memory of the book to an exceptional story that one cannot forget. Like Wilbur, Charlotte's Web is terrific, radiant and humble all rolled into one.

My 10th book was The Age of Orphans by Laleh Khadivi. I've posted a complete review here. The following is a synopsis:

The book is about a young Kurdish boy growing up in Iran in the 1920s. His father along with the other men in his village are killed during a battle with the shah's army. The boy is the only survivor and he is then conscripted into the army. The rest of the book tells the story of his life and how he has to turn against who he is in and commit atrocious acts on his people in order to survive. The book is brutal in its descriptions of wartime acts--murder, rape, etc., yet it is beautifully written in a poetic style.

My daughter and I enjoy reading books together too. She reads amply on her own (she's almost ten), but we enjoy sharing a book a few chapters at a time in the evening. Good to see others doing the same.

Thanks for the post, RidgewayGirl. I love sharing some of my old favorites with my 7 year old. She is becoming quite a reader having greatly exceeded my number of books this year--she loves the Daisy Meadows' Rainbow Magic fairies books and can read one in about 30 minutes. I like to spend our joint time on more substantial books, but I confess that I've learned a lot about the fairies too.

Dreaming in Chinese is a delightful little book about the author's experience learning Chinese and living in China. I enjoyed this book so much because I could relate to the authors stories. I, too, have found that Chinese seems to be to blunt and rude sounding and was corrected by my teacher for using xiѐxie (thank you) too much. I have struggled to learn and remember tones, felt the "cheap thrill of using language like an insider," when I've asked whether I understand the correct word, and used crowds to know when to cross China's scary busy streets. This is a good read for those studying Chinese or for those who just want to know more about China, its language and its people.

Full review found here.

I completed American Born Chinese on 11/24 and posted my review today. This was the first graphic novel I've read (if I don't count the comic books of my kid days.) It was great. The story starts with three stories--one about the Monkey King and his desire to be an equal to the other Gods, one about a kid moving into a new town and a new school where is one of only a handful of other Asians, and one about a suburban, white kid and his cousin Chin-kee--the personification of stereotypes about Chinese and Asian people. Toward the end, all three stories come together into one. The author does an amazing job with his pictures. He can communicate so many emotions with a picture and no words. Definitely recommend.

I still have two more reviews and one book that I am finishing up for 2010.

A short book containing five fairy tales from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, The Tales of Beedle the Bard are those that little wizards and witches heard from their parents. The animation of “The Tale of the Three Brothers” in the movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” renewed my interest in picking up this book. I love fairy tales and fables and I enjoyed these J. K. Rowling’s tales. They are made even more fun by commentary on each story by Professor Albus Dumbledore. I don’t know if people would enjoy these as standalone stories, but Harry Potter fans should definitely check out this book.

I completed The Connected Child tonight. I started it in 2010 and it fits my Kids and Parenting category. This will be the last book that is included in my 2010 list. I still haven't created my 2011 list, but will be able to do that this week. I have one more book to review and then I am done with this thread.

Info on The Connected Child: I thought this book had some great information in it. I think many of the tips and approaches would work for any family whether their children are adopted or not or whether they have special behavioral needs or not. There are chapters on disarming fear, dealing with defiance, teaching life values, how to nurture at every opportunity, and, my favorite chapter, proactive strategies to make life easier. At the end of this one, the authors include a daily Skills Practice Checklist, that includes the life values. I would recommend this book for any adoptive families.