scaifea's 2010 reading journal

Okay, be forewarned: I'm a bit neurotic about what I read and when. I love books (of course) and I love lists, so lists of books are heaven to me and nearly everything I read comes from some list or another, and there's some complex list-rotation involved as well. Here's my best effort to explain myself (if you're in no way interested, please to skip to the next post for my current reads):

Usually I have about 6 books going at once, one each from the following groups (and occasional other books slipped in there too):

1. A library book. I'd tell you how I pick these, but it's too embarrassing. Maybe you'll figure it out as the year unfolds...
2. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).
3. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie. For this category, I’m working through a few different lists:
-NEH Timeless Classics list
-Newbery Winners list
-Caldecott Winners list
-1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
-John Bellairs' bibliography
-The Black Stallion books
4. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.
5. A book for the Presidential Challenge. Books for this category are read in chronological (presidentially) order.
6. An audio book, which I listen to while I'm knitting/sewing/crafting
7. For this category, I cycle through 9 different stacks:
-a. A book from my shelves which I haven't yet read
-b. A CYOA book - I'm trying to collect as many of these as I can, again, for Charlie.
-c. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
-d. Stephen King's bibliography (in chronological order)
-e. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't ask)).
-f. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
-g. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
-h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
-i. The Pulizer list (in alpha order by author)

I have a thread over in the 75 Challenge; you can head on over there for a list of the books I've read so far this year: scaifea's 75 Challenge thread

Here's what I'm reading now:

-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Castle of Llyr
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-March (from the Pulizer list)

Yowzer! I have read March by the way. Are you part of the Pulitzer group here on LT? I do mine in fits and starts and only do a few year, despite my good intentions. I'm only 32% of the way there, according to my list here: http://www.listsofbests.com/list/28/compare/clamairy I do own a whole lot of the ones I still need to read, though.

Oh, you fellow list lover you!

Right now my current work from lists are: Next (a list of authors I am reading everything by), To Read (old TBR list), 1001 Fantasy (GD), 2009 Codes (I have a db and want to read at least one item from each list), 2009 TBR (old list), 2010 (same as 2009), 2010 Dewey (TBR of nonfiction), 2010 MLA (only one more book!), 50 State Challenge, 888 (Still working on 2008 challenge), Due (book due at library soon), Stephen King, LT Most Popular, LT Top 5 of 2007, Misc (another old TBR list), rat (books I got from the library for a read-a-thon but didn't get to), TBR (yet another old TBR list), TBR 2007 (and another), TBR Library (books I got from the library, didn't read before they were due back, and want to get again), The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List.

Oh Morphidae, LT "will you like it" told me that I would love-love-love The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List. I am just afraid to get it because then I'll feel guilty for not reading books from lists, instead of, as I do now, reading whatever my book group choses and whatever I bump into here or listening to the radio. Sigh

clam: I'm almost finished with March; I'm very much enjoying it, although in places it's hard to read (since Charlie's come along I have trouble reading/hearing/watching stuff about children being hurt of killed).

Morphy: List Lovers Unite! You really shouldn't tell me too much about your lists - I'll just want them... You enabler you!

ETA: I, of course, own The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List. I'll get there someday. :)

I'm so glad I'm not CDO like the rest of y'all.

I just, you know, hear about a book, take a look at it, stick it on my wishlist and eventually buy it and then some time or another I get around to reading it.

In whatever order I want, and for no reason other than just wanting to read it.

I'm such a rebel.

You and me both, majkia. All those lists sounds much too complicated for my disorganized life.

ETA Though I respect all y'all who are list lovers. Live and let list, I always say. *sorry*

scaifea...I was intrigued by your reference to the 100 banned book list. I have never perused such a list but after your reference I went off to find the 100 Challanged book list (2009) (in Canada we apparently don't "ban" books but we can challange their inclusion in libraries or on the school curriculum).
Fortunately I could't find any that were banned complete or if they were banned the Supreme Court unbanned them.
There were a number of totally stupid complaints, like the Golden Compass promotes the idea that god isn't in charge because animals talk in a different dimension and some logging company complained that a book didn't portray logging companies in a good light, or a corrupt business complained that someone wrote a book that said they were corrupt.
Most or all of those were ignored or the complainant was told to get stuffed.
I've aleady read "to kill a mocking bird", I sas the golden compass, and I read "Tom Sawyer" as a public school student.

I guess that's a check.

I liked March too and went on to read everything else by Geraldine Brooks. She hasn't written anything bad.

>9 Gord.Barker:
It's the same here in the US. The government doesn't ban books, but individual schools/groups/libraries can remove them from their curriculum or take them out of circulation.

In theory the school boards which take the action of banning a book from schools is in fact an arm of government. It is true the federal government does not ban books but local governmental agencies might do so. I wish such board members would be recalled at best, or at least replaced by voters but all together too often voters are not paying much attention at the one level of government where they could in fact have an impact.

Oooops! I just could not resist that Soap Box. Sorry for the distraction...back to books, now.

I've really enjoyed reading through the 100 Banned Books list, and I've learned a lot too. The book (by the same title) lists not just books banned in the states, but 100 of the most banned book in history.

Well, I managed to finish a couple of books yesterday:
March: I agree with Morphy - incredible book. Amazingly well-written, but still hard to read in parts (content-wise). Very much recommended.

The Castle of Llyr: Really enjoying this series. Great characters, good YA (I guess this is YA? I don't really know) fantasy.

I also read Bathwater's Hot yesterday - another children's book from the 1001 Children's Books list and which will be living on Charlie's shelves. Cute story and nicely illustrated.

So, mu updated current reading list:
-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Taran Wanderer (the next in the Prydain series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I can't do lists. I'm not good with authority or routine. I like to close my eyes and pluck a book off of one of my shelves of unread books. :)

One of my co-workers recently brought an article showing a big list of books which had been banned at one time or another, we both agreed that most of the books on the list had been those which shaped our lives and world view! Wonderful books, for the most part. Perhaps that is why they draw attention, because they have such an impact on the reader. Our high school library had a shelf of books in the office which could not be on the shelves, but could be specifically requested. Since I worked in the library, guess which shelf I read books off of? I don't remember any of the great ones on there though.

I read "1001 Arabian Nights," but I wonder if it was a compact version? It was an old book of my mothers.

10, 13 - I've enjoyed reading Geraldine Brooks books as well. At the moment I'm reading Nine Parts of Desire which I meant to use as a dipping into book but I find it's become my main read. I haven't read March yet but I'm bumping it up the TBR pile.

in places it's hard to read (since Charlie's come along I have trouble reading/hearing/watching stuff about children being hurt of killed).

This happened to me too, scaifea. My tolerance for violence in entertainment, whether it be movies or books, has definitely declined since having my boys.

MrsLee: re: 1001 Nights - was it really really *really* long? If not, it wasn't the whole thing. Even mine is not all 1001 nights of stories, and it's super long. I don't even know if there is a translation out there of the whole thing, to be honest. Have I mentioned that it's really long? And it comes from a very old oral story tradition, so the Richard Burton edition (I think the most popular in the west) is only one such collection of varying tales. I think. I have no real knowledge or authority on the subject.

sandragon: Yeah, and people told me that would happen post-child-bearing and I didn't really believe them. There are so many things about being a parent that there's really just no use trying to describe to people who don't have children - they're not gonna believe you until they have their own.

On the subject of banned books, I just saw this on one of the giveaway threads: http://www.librarything.com/topic/66254#2206537

#16 - I doubt if it was the whole thing. I think mine was published in two very small volumes, round about the beginning of the twentieth century. The print was very small, but still. What I remember is that the stories became repetitive. I wouldn't be interested in reading it over again. :)

I can't do lists. I'm not good with authority or routine. I like to close my eyes and pluck a book off of one of my shelves of unread books.
I tried to commit to 12 (only 12) books for the Books of the Shelf challenge. I've read over 70 books this year and only about 6 were owned at the beginning of the year. Too many new ones come along and I get distracted by the shiny new covers burying the older ones.

Well, if I don't close my eyes then all the titles start calling out, "pick me! pick me!" and I can't make up my mind.

#19 mamzel: To each his own. I revel in the neat-&-tidy-ness of my lists, but I respect those whose reading schedules are less, *ahem*, regimented. :)

When I see or hear of a book that sounds like I'd like to have it, I just add it to my Amazon wishlist. That way I leave it to fate (i.e. to the people who buy presents for me from that list) whether I get it or not.

I make short lists of print and Kindle books to read and try to stay relatively close to the order, though other books sometimes stray along and, as mamzel says, distract me with their shiny covers, but when it comes to listening to audiobooks, then I sort of just scroll through the titles and pick whatever attracts me first.

I try making lists. I even keep a handy Stickie on my laptop wallpaper. There's even a semblance of organization (genre fiction, literary fiction, nonfiction, series, poetry, etc).

But inevitably the list gets shuffled and organization gives way to random binges.

Oh, random binges! I love them. They're the most fun!

I have a TBR list that is numbered. Sadly, I too succumb to random binges, or new releases, or new authors discovered or whatever, so it is constantly being altered.

Sadly, that pushes down some books I probably 'should' have read, but are still sitting there impatiently vying for my attention.

I have so many TBR lists that I have a list of my lists. Heck, I have a full MS Access database to keep track of it all.

I put my wish list on a spreadsheet in Google Docs so I can add to it or refer to it from any computer. Someday (it's inevitable) I'll have a cell phone with Internet access so it will be with me when I go out to book stores.

I finished Taran Wanderer yesterday. This one is, so far, my favorite book in the series. I think that's partly because it has the feel of an old folktale, which I really like, and it brings across a sort of moral lesson without being preachy at all. Can't wait to get going on the next in the series!

I also got another book for Charlie's shelves in the mail the other day, Tickle Tickle, from the 1001 Children's Books list. It's a really nice getting-ready-for-bed book: not a lot of words, simple story and nice illustrations.

So, updated current reads list:

-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The High King (the next in the Prydain series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I am so impressed by all of you with *lists*. You're so organized and thoughtful. Flog me with a wet noodle, but I just can't read that way. Scaifea, you put me to shame.

How's the James Madison biography? Does it accord appropriate space to Dolley?

It's a compulsion really. Sometimes I wish I were more the "Let's see what's on the shelf" type. Other times I really love messing with my lists.

I revel in my lists, although I understand that some people would see it as being constrained.

jillmwo: I'm not very far into the Madison biography yet (so nowhere near Dolley yet), but it's amazingly detailed (read: some may find it tedious). It's nearly 700 pages long.

I've finished The High King, which I think is a wonderful end to the series, even if it does have a bit of a Tolkien ring to it (I'm not saying I don't like Tolkien, I'm just saying that Alexander seems to have, ahem, borrowed some ideas). I also read through Coll and His White Pig and The Truthful Harp yesterday, both picture books which are mini-prequels to the Prydain series.

Updated Reading List, then:
-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-King of the Wind (NEH & Newbery lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished with King of the Wind. The story of the Arabian horse who, apparently, changed the course of horse-breeding in England and was the ancestor of Man Of War.

Why is it that nearly all horse stories has to have the horse suffer so much before it can be treated properly? This one read very much like Black Beauty, really. So it was okay but not fantastic.

Updated Reading List:
-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Rabbit Hill (NEH & Newbery lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Isn't it odd that books about suffering, whether people or animals, seem so much more profound than books about happy, satisfying lives? Maybe it is because we wonder WHY? and everyone has a different take on the causes of suffering, and the "benefits". I think King of the Wind sounds interesting and I know Marguerite Henry wrote some great children's books.

maggie: It *was* good; I think I was just not in the right mood/mindset for it. I remember loving Misty of Chincoteague when I was a kid.

I finished Rabbit Hill - The story of the animal who live in the countryside near an old abandoned house, and how their lives change when a new family moves in.
Wonderful! Loved it. Better than Wind in the Willows, even. Definitely recommended.

I also read through Rhyme Stew yesterday. Meh. Certainly my least favorite of all his stuff so far. This one will not be making it onto Charlie's shelves (too racy in parts).

Updated Current Reads list:
-I promessi sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Rifles for Watie (NEH & Newbery lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I managed to finish another book, plus get through an accumulation of books for Charlie:

Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (NEH & Newbery lists)

The story of a young man from Kansas who decides to enroll in the Union army, and of his adventures. A solidly good story - I recommend it, but I won't be putting it on Charlie's shelves for a long time (maybe never). Descriptions of death in battle too graphic for me to justify doing so.

Bunny Bath by Lena Anderson (1001 Children's Books list)

No words, just pictures telling the story of how a bunny helps a little boy take a bath. May sound a bit strange, but it's adorable.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (1001 Children's Books list)

Fantastic little board book about a family who goes on a quest for a bear and their reaction once they succeed. Again I say adorable. Can't wait to read this one with Charlie before bed tonight!

Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown (Caldecott list)

A Wise Man helps a mouse, then helps that mouse learn a life lesson. Hm. Not convinced this one deserved the award. It's okay, but not great, IMHO.

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills

My brother gave this one to Charlie this weekend as a pre-Halloween gift. Super cute.

Also, I have to say that I'm really really REALLY enjoying A Game of Thrones - I'm about 300 pages into it and it's blowing me away! So excited about this series!

Updated Current Reads list:
-83327::I promessi sposi (library book)
-6253701::1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-29443::Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Kipper: Story Collection (NEH & Newbery lists)
-29278::Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-13481::James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-8366::A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Read Kipper: Story Collection last night. It's a collection of stories about an adorable, lovable dog named Kipper. I love this little guy - Charlie already loves the cartoon version, so I was happy to see this one on the list - I know he'll love it too.

Updated Current Reads list:
I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Strawberry Girl (NEH & Newbery lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

#34 "Isn't it odd that books about suffering, whether people or animals, seem so much more profound than books about happy, satisfying lives?"

cf Tolkein - the hobbit on the approach to Rivendale, where they spend some two or three weeks, which Tolkein dismisses in a paragragh or two, as being uninteresting to relate.

Funny Faces: Halloween Jack
Funny Faces: Santa Claus
Funny Faces: Alien Al

These three I ordered for Charlie because he has another in this same series (Charlie Monkey) and loves loves loves it. So I gave the first one to him today, will keep the second one until after Thanksgiving, and the third one will be a Christmas present.

Also polished off Strawberry Girl today (from the NEH & Newberry lists). It's the story of a young girl growing up in the Florida frontier land, her family's struggle to settle down, start a strawberry farm and, most of all, get along with the neighbors.
Sweet little story, well told, and as always Lenski's illustrations are lovely. Recommended.

So, here's the Updated Current Reads list:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The House With a Clock in Its Walls (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Who Loves Me? Quis me amat? by Marie Carducci Bolchazy (Charlie book)
What Will I Eat? Quid edam? by Marie Carducci Bolchazy (Charlie book)
What Color Is It? Quo colore est? by Marie Carducci Bolchazy (Charlie book)

I went to a Classics conference Friday and yesterday and picked up these Latin-books-for-kids for Charlie. Cute.

I finished The House with a Clock in Its Walls yesterday:

Lewis Barnavelt isn't the most popular kid in school, but when his parents are killed in a car accident and he moves in with an uncle he's never met, he finally finds some friends (namely, his uncle and their next-door neighbor lady). These just happen to be a wizard and a witch, and Lewis soon finds his life more exciting - and dangerous - than he ever imagined.

Wonderful read! I bought another Bellairs book (sort of - it's one of those written by Brad Strickland but based on Bellairs style and characters) at a library book sale, read it, loved it, and decided to read more Bellairs. A great book for Charlie's 'In a Few Years' shelves.

Read through Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever this morning. The In-Laws sent this to Charlie. It's cute, but not as good as the original (I suspect that it's not actually written by Freeman), and it's a little saccharine.

So, here's the Updated Current Reads list:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Figure in the Shadows (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I remember reading and enjoying The House with a Clock In Its Walls when I was kid. Some other Bellairs too.

The Trolley to Yesterday is my favorite Bellairs.

deniro & reconditereader: I'm really enjoying them and I think they'll be great for Charlie in a few years...

Finished another Bellairs book today, The Figure in the Shadows, which is the second in what I think is a trilogy of books featuring Lewis Barnavelt. In this one, Lewis discovers that his grandfather's (or his uncle's grandfather, I've already forgotten!) lucky coin is in fact a magic amulet, and he finds this out by way of being possessed by it!

I'm really just loving Bellairs' stuff. Great characters, good thriller stories, without being too scary at all.

So, here's the Updated Current Reads list:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Letter, the Witch and the Ring (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished The Letter, the Witch and the Ring yesterday, which is the last in the trilogy of books involving Lewis, his best friend Rose Rita, his uncle Jonathon, and his uncle's neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman. This one focuses more on Rose Rita - in fact, Lewis is barely around - but it's still a nice ending to the trilogy. Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman go off on what appears at first to be an ordinary (i.e. non-magical) adventure, but soon there's a missing magical ring involved, and dangers and adventures galore follow thereafter. Still loving Bellairs and will keep on reading right through his bibliography for awhile.

-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn this morning: Another Bellairs book for Charlie's shelves. This time we meet Anthony Monday, a young boy with a troubled home life, who finds a friend in the town librarian. Together they stumble upon a clue to the town's deceased, rich-yet-eccentric citizen's hidden treasure, and they elude dangers from the mean old nephew of said deceased eccentric along the way. Good, but maybe not as good as the previous ones. Next up is a Johhny Dixon book, so I'm looking forward to that.

-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Curse of the Blue Figurine (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished The Curse of the Blue Figurine yesterday. The first of the Johnny Dixon books. Johnny lives with his grandparents after his mother died and his father rejoined the army. He befriends the curmudgeonly professor who lives next door, and together they stumble upon an evil church secret (no, not *that* kind of evil church secret!), involving the ghost of a wicked priest and, yep, a blue figurine.
Thoroughly enjoyable. Love the friendship between the professor and Johnny. And the supernatural stuff is cool too. Just perfect for a kid's book - spooky, but not really scary.

Updated Current Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Mummy, the Will and the Crypt (a Charlie book/Bellairs bibliography book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Sounds like you've found the perfect author for Halloween!

Ha! I was thinking that just this morning!

Finished with The Mummy, the Will and the Crypt: Another Johnny Dixon story. This time he's off to solve the puzzle left by an eccentric, dead millionaire, and solving it means finding the old man's will and winning ten thousand dollars. Again, love the characters, love the spooky plot - great read.

Then, got this one through the mail today for Charlie: Owl Babies
This one's about three baby owls who don't know where their mom's gone off to. She gets back safe, of course. Meh. I've certainly read better, and I'm not really even too found of the illustrations. S'okay, just not great.

Updated Current Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Norby the Mixed-Up Robot (a Charlie book)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

So, of course, Owl Babies is going to be Charlie's favorite book EVER. :)

Morphy: LOL - of course it will be!

Okay, finished Norby the Mixed-Up Robot last night. I bought another book in this series, not knowing it was a series, at a library book sale, so I thought I'd start at the beginning and work my way through. Well, after reading this first one, I don't think I'll bother with the rest. It gets a big fat Meh from me. The story isn't all that great, none of the characters are likeable, there's some definite sexism going on, even though it's clearly meant as a kid's book! Yeah, I'm gonna pass on this series.

May I Bring a Friend? came in the mail yesterday for Charlie's bookshelves - it's from the Caldecott list: A little boy gets invited to dine with the king and queen, repeatedly, and he always has a friend he wants to bring along. Cute story, cutely illustrated.

Updated Current Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Amos Fortune, Free Man (NEH & Newbery lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished Amos Fortune, Free Man, which is on both the NEH and the Newbery lists. This story follows the life of Amos Fortune, born a prince in Africa, captured and sold into slavery in New England, and who purchased his own freedom and spread as much liberty as he could as long as he lived. I nice little story; an uplifting read.
To take it's place, next up is Ellen Tebbits, from the Cleary bibliography. I've loved all of her books I've read so far (I only ever knew the Ralph S. Mouse books when I was a kid), so I'm looking forward to this one.

Updated Current Reads list:
Updated Current Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Ellen Tebbits (Cleary bibliography)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished Ellen Tebbits this morning. I love Cleary's books - I only new the Ralph S. Mouse books as a kid, but as I'm collecting books for Charlie's shelves, I'm really enjoying catching up on her work. I think she especially appeals to me because I grew up on a farm, and although I appreciate the benefits of such a childhood, I missed the fun of living in an actual neighborhood and being able simply to walk over to a friend's house to play. I can relive my childhood vicariously in that fashion via Cleary's stories.

Update Current Reads:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-27010::Captains Courageous (NEH list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Damn...

You list people make me feel like such a schlep.

Oh clam, to each her own. I revel in my lists, but I completely understand that others would feel absolutely bogged down, nay, even shackled, by such lists. You're not a schlep! I'm just list-eccentric. :)

But I use copious lists for shopping and chores, etc. And I keep lists of what I've already read. I think I just must rebel at the idea of controlled reading, since I feel like I have such little freedom when it comes to the rest of my life. LOL

Finished Captains Courageous. Yeck. Between the subject matter (fishing boats) and the dialects, I couldn't really even follow this story. Something about a spoiled rich kid ending up on a fishing boat and learning the ropes, so to speak. I didn't enjoy it much at all.

Update Current Reads:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Son of the Black Stallion (Black Stallion series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Awww, one of our rare deviations in likes. I loved Captains Courageous. The way the men took the boy under their care and how his character transformed.

Maybe I'm prejudiced because my father used to have young, shall we say, delicate, or, not very motivated young men who were relatives of ours from the city come and work for him on the farm during the summer. It always improved them and they loved to come back for reality checks. :) Hard physical labor with lots of freedom to roam and explore is a good recipe for young men, as well as lots of farm food and weary induced sleep.

Speaking as a city girl who spent summers on a wheat and cattle ranch in Idaho as a kid I could not agree more enthusiastically! I first went when I was 8 years old and spent some part of every single summer with that family for the next 8 years. By the time I was 16 I was way too much a know-it-all and they were probably tired of me. I was shocked at how racially prejudiced they were but other wise it was so wonderful to have long summers of hot days, nothing to do, wandering around fields and talking to animals who mostly ignored me.

I don't know what's wrong with me with this one - it's not that I don't like the idea of the story - who doesn't like a good rich-spoiled-child-learns-to-be-good story (Secret Garden, anyone?)? I just couldn't get past the dialects and the fishing jargon that I couldn't understand.

Nothing wrong with you, silly. You just didn't care for it. :)

I happen to have a yen for stories on the high seas. It's my little weirdness because I have panic attacks when I'm actually on the high seas and I turn green on a wharf. Also, dialects don't bother me so long as I don't have to slow down too much to read them. My mind usually translates them into my way of speaking, unless I'm in a slow reading mode, then I savor them when they are well done. I can certainly see how they are not everyone's cup of tea.

Finished Son of the Black Stallion this afternoon: Alec Ramsey is back, this time he's been given the first colt from The Black as a gift. He names it Satan, and it's not just a clever name - this is one mean horse. But Alec, though still young, has a sort of magic with horses, and he puts it to good use here. There's the battle with the taming of the wild colt, then there's an issue with a Big Bad Other Horse Owner/Racer, and then of course the big race at the end. Typical, yet still engaging - a good read. I'm very much enjoying the series so far.

Updated Reading List, then:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Island Stallion (Black Stallion series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I can't help it: I love all the Walter Farley books. Loved them when I was a kid, and still like them a lot, all these decades later.

maggie: Yay! Me too (the ones I've read so far, at least)! I read the first one when I was a kid, but I'm just getting to the rest of them now. I started The Island Stallion this afternoon and am loving it so far.

Finished The Island Stallion today: New characters, new horse. Steve and his friend, Pitch, discover a "lost world" on a deserted (except for the horses, of course) island. Among the wild horses on the island is a red stallion, which Steve has quite literally seen in his dreams since he was a child. A friendship ensues.
Another good one - it's fun to follow the two friends as they discover tunnels and caverns left behind by the Spanish conquistadors, plus, of course, the horse & boy story is good too.

Let's have an updated Current Reads list, shall we?
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Black Stallion and Satan (Black Stallion series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

If not for Walter Farley's books, I WOULD HAVE BEEN A NON READER. No kidding!!!! I discovered them in second grade, and they redeemed books, which, up to then, I thought were hopelessly boring.

The crap they use to teach kids to read....unbelievably dull.

That's wonderful, Janny! I read the first book of the series when I was little and in my little-girl-wants-horse phase. I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm, so I in fact *did* get my horse, although it was more of an Old Grey Mare type than a Black Stallion. LOL - I did pretend she was an wild Arabian when I rode her, though, plodding along the dirt roads.

oh, scaifea, your story sounds a bit like mine, excepting I did not grow up on a farm, I was just lucky enough to spend weeks during the summer on a wheat/cattle ranch in Idaho. A couple times I got a summer horse to plod around on...and it was fun. Walter Farley was my hero! Didn't we all love "the black"?

Just adding a "me, too" to the Black Stallion love.

maggie & Morphy: Here's another Black book completed: The Black Stallion and Satan.

The Black and his colt finally meet. Not surprisingly, they don't like each other very much. Will they both be able to compete in the big International Race? The possible outbreak of a deadly and contagious horse disease at the track threatens the race *and* the lives of the horses. Oh, and there's a climactic forest fire too!

Another very enjoyable entry in this series. By the end, I couldn't read fast enough to see what would happen next!

I'm fresh out of Black books, so I'll have to wait until my next monthly Amazon order to read more. For now, I've got another Bellairs books waiting to be read...

Updated Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Dark Secret of Weatherend (Bellairs bibliography)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished The Dark Secret of Weatherend last night before heading off to Bedfordshire: Anthony Monday and his friend Miss Eells are back, and this time they find themselves pitted against an evil sorcerer-type who wants to destroy the world via the weather.

Another winner from Bellairs. Infinitely likable characters, cool plots, enjoyable reads. I've looked forward to every one of his I've read so far and have yet to be disappointed.

So I'll have one less in my Reading List for now, until I get round to the next monthly Amazon order and get some more items from my Books For Charlie lists. So here's the slightly diminished update:

-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Rousseau's Confessions (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-The Dark Secret of Weatherend (Bellairs bibliography)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished Rousseau's Confessions just now. It's the autobiography of the French novelist/philosopher; it has been banned throughout its history on sexual grounds (he discusses his mistress of 16 years, his 5 abandoned children, his sexual awakening at age 8 by means of the spanking he gets from his 30-year-old nanny,...). Beyond this (it's really not as titillating as it sounds, for better or for worse), I really enjoyed this read for the view into 18th century France and into Rousseau's strange little life.

Updated Current Reads List:

-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-1001 Arabian Nights (banned books list)
-Jude the Obscure (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Whew - finally finished 1001 Arabian Nights after 1 1/2 years! I really enjoyed it, though, although I couldn't for the life of me retell many of the stories now - they're all ajumbled in my head. It's great to read something that has so clearly been influential to western literature in so many ways.

Updated Current Reads List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (also from the banned books list - because the previously listed book is so long, I feel like I'm not actually making any headway on this list!)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)
-The Einstein Syndrome

This morning I finished The Einstein Syndrome by Thomas Sowell:

This is a non-fiction work on the phenomenon of late-talking yet very bright children. I decided to read it because Charlie is now 26 months old and still not really talking yet. He says a few individual words, but according to 'norms', he's behind.
I can't praise this book enough. First of all, it's fascinating. Sowell essentially stumbled upon the discovery that this type of child is out there and is more common that ever thought previously. Although traditionally late in beginning to talk, they are generally very bright - well above average - especially in certain areas (mainly analytical skills). Einstein, of course, is the extreme example. So, on it's own, without any personal connection, it's a fascinating read. But, it's also so very interesting to me because Charlie seems to fit all the characteristics to a T, including such interesting tidbits as the fact that he has multiple close relatives that are scientists, engineers and musicians (!).
On a slightly difference track, the book is good because it warns parents of late talking bright children of the dangers of institutional labels that tend to get slapped onto these children. They are not autistic, they're not ADHD kids, and yet with frightening frequency parents of these children have to fight the 'experts' against these labels. I'm so glad I know this before we head off to the speech pathologist for an assessment.

Updated Current Reads list:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Just got another Newbery/NEH lists book in the mail today, so I'll be starting it this afternoon!

Updated Current Reads list, then:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-...and now Migeul (Newbery & NEH lists)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Finished that new one today: ...and now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (Newbery & NEH lists).

A young boy is keen to grow up and help out on his family's sheep farm, especially in the summer, when they take they herd up the mountain to graze.

For the most part I feel pretty meh about this one. The one bit that makes it worthwhile, for me, is a scene between the main character, Miguel (who's 10 years old), and his older brother, Gabriel (a teenager), when they try to work out between the two of them what it means to pray and what's the process behind the scenes, so to speak, when one does pray. It's sweet without being saccharine, poignant without being too preachy. Makes the whole book worth the read.

Updated Current Reads list:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

Read through the two Charlie books I got from Amazon today:

Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas (Caldecott list)

A retelling of an old oral Scottish folk song. Wonderful, delightful, beautifully illustrated. If you have a little one, go get this book!

Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne (1001 Children's Books list)

Meh. S'okay, but I think it suffered from having been read directly after #211.

Updated Currently Reading List:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-The Jungle Book (NEH list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I just started an audio book, which I listen to while I knit or sew or otherwise craft: The Year of the Flood. Whoa. I was hooked right away. It's very Atwood-y, if that makes sense - distopia, from a woman's POV,...very Handmaid's Tale-ish so far (which equals V. Good in my book).

Finished The Jungle Book this afternoon: A medley of stories about, yep, the jungle, and its inhabitants. The best ones are, of course, the Mowgli ones. However, some of the others are a bit darker than I would have suspected. I really didn't think I was going to like this one, since I've read Just So Stories no too long ago and didn't really care for it much, but Kipling did a much better job here, I think.

Updated Reading List, then:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-Otis Spofford (Cleary bibliography list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-The Year of the Flood (audio book)
-A Game of Thrones (from my TBR shelves)

I admit to being a definite Kipling fan. Jungle Book is especially good, I think. Have you read Kim? It is also more complex than you might expect. Very good. But his short stories are what he is really known for.

No, I haven't read Kim, and I don't really know anything about it, other than for some reason I want to think that it's more of a non-kid book, no? I think it's on a couple of my book lists, so I'll probably get to it eventually. And I think I'm in a distinct minority in my dislike of Just So Stories - not sure why I couldn't really take to it...

I would say that although the main character is a kid, it's not really a kid's book. More for older teens. Just because there is dialogue and it's a little more challenging in focus.

cmbohn: Well, I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of Kim on my bookshelves, so I'll get to it eventually!

I managed to finish a couple of books while visiting my family over the holiday:

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Well, I generally try to give a brief summary of the books I read here, but I can't even begin to do this one justice. Wow. OMG. (Add your favorite exclamatory expression here.) This book is amazing. A couple of times, I even sprung up from my chair in surprise at the ending of certain chapters. It's a bit intense in places, and a bit gross in others, but this pretty close to being the best book I've ever read. Ever. It's most definitely in the top 5.

The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull by johnbellairs::John Bellairs

Johnny Dixon and his Professor friend again find themselves in a bit of trouble, this time involving a tiny skull and a strange, haunted clock.
I'm really enjoying the Bellairs books. I think I've said this before, but it merits a repeat: they're spooky and cool, but never tip over into actual scary. Just a fun, comfy creepy read, with very likable characters. I just know that Charlie will love them in a few years.

Updated Reading List, then:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt (the Black Stallion series)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-The Year of the Flood (audio book)
-A Clash of Kings (from my TBR shelves)

Game of Thrones is pretty amazing. I hope HBO does the book justice.

I love how unpredictable GRRM is. You just never know... And, actions have consequences, even for the heroes.

The upcoming HBO show is what prompted me finally to start this series. I have faith that they'll do a good job, based on previously really good shows from them.
And I know what you mean about the main characters - at the point when I realized that *no one* is safe in this series, I started to worry about my favorites - usually if they're major characters, even if they're in dire straits you need not worry too badly for them, but that doesn't seem to be the case here!

Bit late - but how readable was 1001 Nights? Its something I've thought I ought to read for a while - but like most "oughts" I've put off actually doing so because I suspect fro no particular reason that its dull/slow to read with odd language. Is that the case?

reading_fox: Well, it took me awhile to get used to the language, and then it took me the better part of two years to finish it (!), but I did very much enjoy it. There are a lot of abridged versions out there, if you didn't want to commit to the longer version (I don't know for certain, but I don't think there is a completely complete version anywhere, since its tradition is from oral stories that varied throughout time).
Oh, and, interesting note about the language: I read the Burton translation, which is pretty much wholly inaccurate in tone - he translated it into, essentially, King James-style English (very thee- and thou-y and very proper English), but the original language is lower class and bawdy. So, reading this way, we get the wrong sense of the original intention of the work - it wasn't meant to be 'literature', but to be entertaining, funny and more than a little bit naughty.

Go Project Guttenburg:

"In this book "The Arabian Nights" are translated from the French
version of Monsieur Galland, who dropped out the poetry and a great
deal of what the Arabian authors thought funny, though it seems
wearisome to us. In this book the stories are shortened here and
there, and omissions are made of pieces only suitable for Arabs and old
gentlemen. The translations are by the writers of the tales in the
Fairy Books, and the pictures are by Mr. Ford.

"
By Lang in 1918, I'll try this version and see how I get on. Thanks for the info and inspiration.

*snork!*

Happy reading - I'd love to hear what you think of it as you go along!

Finished what will probably be my last book of 2010: The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt by Walter Farley.

This time we enter the world of cart racing and the cozy life of the county fair. I'm a big fan of small county fairs, so I very much enjoyed the setting. As usual, Farley's characters are imminently lovable, horse and human alike. The plot may be predictable, but then again, what's so wrong with that? Yet another series that I think Charlie will really like, especially since he and his grandpa already make frequent trips to the barn to feed & pet the horses when we visit!

Updated Reading List, then:
-I Promessi Sposi (library book)
-Jude the Obscure (banned books list)
-Le Morte d'Arthur (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-James Madison (Presidential Challenge)
-The Year of the Flood (audio book)
-A Clash of Kings (from my TBR shelves)