Gifts from the Sea

by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
home, paperback, 112 pages
genre: children's coming-of-age

Enjoyable little book. Set in the 1846 on an island with a lighthouse, Quila and her father have just buried her mother when a baby shows up wrapped in a mattress after a storm. Caring for little Celia gives them both a new lease on life . . . until Margaret shows up. Cute story.

The Siege of Macindaw

by John Flanagan
Book 6 of The Ranger's Apprentice series
PRMS hardcover 293 pages
genre: adventure, fantasy

Nice! Of course, Will and Horace are victorious. I love the Skandians and Malcolm. The Scotti were an interesting addition. Keren and his mesmerizing blue stone, abrupt changes in behavior - not so much. Great fighting scenes. Looking forward to #7. (Is it weird that I enjoy YA books so much? Arrested development, perhaps.)

 

<Above written 9.30.2010. Below added 5.21.2023.>

 

Chapter 28: "Before you start swinging around like a demented milkmaid at a Spring Festival hop-dance, look over your damned shoulder!"

 

This line made me laugh! Gundar (one of the Skandians) is talking to Nils (one of his crew) as they are preparing to siege Macindaw castle. 

 

I liked the way Will interacted with the various characters and planned to defeat Keren, Buttle, and the other bad guys.

I loved that Will and Horace drank so much coffee that Malcolm was seriously concerned about a shortage!

The Hobbit

by JRR Tolkien 

audioCDs 11.25 hours Hennepin County Library 

read by Rob Inglis 

 

I'm glad I got this. It was nice that Louise and I could both enjoy it when we drove up to visit Morgan. This is "comfort food" of reading. Though Bilbo isn't my favorite character, I like the riddle game with Gollum, the scenes with trolls and spiders, Bard killing Smaug, and the role of the birds in this story. The dwarves' greed and stubbornness remind me of some in our society, too . . . so sad when people's desire for material possessions clouds their view of what is truly important.

 

<Above from 9.30.10. Below on 8.17.22>

 

 I relistened to this exact version (Rob Inglis) on Libby recently. I enjoyed it but occasionally my brain was in LOTR instead . . . Louie and I rewatched Fellowship and Two Towers a few weeks ago . . . also, I listened while I was doing other things. It's nice sometimes to have a "comfort" read. I had forgotten how many songs were included! The dwarves singing about cracking Bilbo's plates I remembered, but there were SO MANY other songs - from elves, goblins, the men of Dale, . . . This is a lovely version to listen to.

<Below added 5.25.2023.>

I thought it had been a much longer time since I had listened to this! Less than a year . . . where was my brain last year? I got the audio on Libby because I spend so much time in my car and like having something to listen to, but also something I don't mind missing parts of if I'm focusing on something else (like safe driving). 

Honestly, I much prefer reading the text even though Inglis does a fantastic job with the vocal work! As usual, I prefer the adventure, the riddles, the trolls and spiders over the character of Bilbo and the stubbornness and greed of Thorin. (I'm glad he and Bilbo reconcile before the end, though.) This time through, I actually fast-forwarded through many of the songs. My apologies to Tolkien and Tolkien purists.

The Barcode Tattoo

by Suzanne Weyn
PRMS LA paperback 252 pages
genre: future / apocalyptic YA

Glad I finally read this one (it's our first 8th grade Book Club title). Disappointed in the main character being completely in love with two different guys in a short time span - but it's real, true love. Both times. Whatever!
Some of the apocalyptic stuff seemed believable until the end when it got too bizarrely New Age-y. People's mental abilities mutating within a few months? As a genetic adaptation to a new situation? Right.
It'll be interesting to hear what my students say about it.

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell

by Lilian Jackson Braun
Dakota County Library audioCDs 4 hours
read by George Guidall
genre: murder mystery

Don't know how I could have loved this series so much once upon a time. Now it all seems so worn out and trite. Qwilleran and his luxurious mustache, the cats, his relationship with Polly. Yuk. And how quickly and effortlessly people make major life changes. Just too pat. And how can anyone ignore Koko's messages after all the murders he's solved?
Guidall's voice is fantastic and he does a wonderful job with the material.

The Sorcerer of the North

Book 5 of The Ranger's Apprentice
by John Flanagan
PRMS hardcover 295 pages
genre: adventure, fantasy

He did it again! This story gets to a climax, then leaves us hanging. NOW I know why kids who read these books come into the media center frantically asking for the next book in the series! I was almost tempted to go in to work today to check the next one out! About five years have passed for the characters in Araluen. Will has just been assigned to his first post in Seacliff when the previous ranger decided to retire. He is soon sent on a special mission to the north. Mystery, danger, and unusual alliances ensue. The book ends with Will having failed to rescue Alyss from the duplicitous Keren. . .

 

<Above posted 9.18.2010. Below added 5.21.2023.>

 

I like how Will and Alyss discover Malcolm and the healing work he is doing. I love how Will rescues the dog! And how he makes peace with the Skandians . . . and then gives them the evil John Buttle. These stories are page-turners!

The Icebound Land

Ranger's Apprentice #3
by John Flanagan
PRMS hardcover 266 pages

In this third installment of the series, Will and Evanlyn are brought to Skandia as slaves. Horace joins Halt in venturing to rescue them, though Halt forfeits his membership in the Rangers to do so. My favorite parts were where Will "shows up" Slagor and where Halt bests Dearnieux. These books create an insatiable desire to find out what happens next. . .

 

<Above published on 9.16.10. Below added 5.16.23.>

 

Libby ebook

 

The thing that really struck me in this book was the description of Will's addiction to Warmweed. The drug is given to him by another slave in the Skandians' yard and Will is so weakened by hunger, cold, and work that he gratefully chews it and enjoys the narcotic warmth. As the story goes along, the descriptions of his dependency are all too realistic.

Chapter 31: "Warmweed built up a physical dependence in its addicts, so that total deprivation meant actual pain. She would have to gradually wean the boy off the drug, . . . "

"For the first time, she saw a glint of expression in his normally dull gaze. But his attention was totally focused on the drug and she came to realize how completely it ruled his life and his mind these days. Silently, tears forming in her eyes, she watched the hollow shell who had once been such a vital, enthusiastic companion. She condemned Borsa and the other Skandians who had caused this to the hottest corner of whatever hell they believed in."

I enjoyed Evanlyn / Cassandra as a character. I'm so glad she was able to help Will escape.

Benjamin Franklin: an American Life

by Walter Isaacson
read by Boyd Gaines
Carver County Library, audioCDs 7 hours
genre: biography

This was interesting, but made me want to read another point of view. The author clearly has a huge amount of admiration for Franklin and pointed out repeatedly that he had a positive opinion of & relationships with, women, and that he was NOT a womanizer. Methinks he doth protest too much . . .
In any case, whether I would have liked old Ben or not, it's clear that he was an extraordinary person who impacted our country a great deal. His diplomacy in dealing with France and Britain were especially crucial. The author's stress on Franklin's religion of tolerance got a bit old, but it was an interesting and informative portrayal. I ought to read the autobiography of this influential man.

The Battle for Skandia

by John Flanagan
PRMS hardcover 294 pages
genre: fantasy adventure

I'm so glad Halt's back in the thick of things! Will, Halt, and Horace save Evanlyn from the marauders (Temujai) and end up helping to save Skandia as well. I like the strategy of the battle and Slagor's comeupance. These books are kind of addicting. (Louie is reading book 3, which I haven't blogged about yet) right now.

 

<Above published 9.11.10. Below added 5.16.23.>

 

Libby ebook.

 

Yep. I plowed right through books 1-4 and am currently on book 5. Addicting!

Chapter 40: "'I'm so sorry, everyone. But if you ever knew my grandmother, you'd understand why my grandfather might have been tempted! Grandma had a face like a robber's dog - and a temperament to match it!'"

Cassandra is not behaving in a very princess-like manner here, but she definitely helped Halt reconcile with her father, King Duncan. Her outburst made me laugh. She has just spent a year as a captive of a rough, raiding tribe of people . . . so her manners may take a while to revert to polite courtliness.

Chapter 40: " . . . Halt's tonsorial efforts."

I don't see that word often, but the fact that Halt's hair looks as though he's hacked it off with his belt knife . . . great use of context to teach vocab, Mr. Flanagan!

Something Rotten

by Jasper Fforde
Hennepin County Library, hardcover, 383 pages
genre: SciFi humor

This is the book I had initially "read" (listened to on CD) a few years ago. I love the Thursday Next series! This one has fictional character Kaine stirring up resentment against the Danish, Hamlet coming out of his book to spend some time with Thursday, Landen coming back, and Thursday getting the Neanderthals to help win Swindon's game so the world doesn't end. Great, bizarre stuff. Oh! And Thursday & Landen's child, Friday, only speaks in ipsum lorem!

Benny & Shrimp

by Katarina Mazetti
Hennepin County Library, paperback, 209 pages
translated from Swedish by Sarah Death
genre: relationships

Kathy Giesen had this on her kitchen counter and I was curious, so I got a copy too. It was odd - the two main characters meet in a cemetery. Benny is visiting his mother's grave and Shrimp is at her husband's grave. Their first impressions of one another are not positive. Their relationship grows into a romance that's all wrong. He wants her to move out to the farm with him and help him run his household. She wants him to give up his farm to live with her in the city. She's a librarian, but that wasn't enough to make her a likable character for me. She came across as selfish and inconsiderate. I think Benny's better off without her. Weird book, but I'm glad I read it.

Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat

the Young Reader's Edition
by Michael Pollan
adapted by Richie Chevat
PRMS, hardcover, 298 pages
genre: Non-fiction, food science / agribusiness

Wow. This was a very thought-provoking book. It made me happier than ever that we participate in a CSA. And buy our beef from a local farmer. It makes me want to try harder to eat healthier and closer to home. The biggest shocker to me was the power of corn, the corn subsidies, and the fact that cows don't naturally eat corn! Their stomachs deal with a diet of grasses, and being fed corn is part of the agribusiness unnaturalness that this book covers. The author talked about point to point development of food within the industrial, organic industrial, beyond organic, and hunter/gatherer models. Powerful stuff. Makes me think about what I'm eating!

Hunger Games & Chasing Fire

by Suzanne Collins
PRMS hardbound
genre: YA fantasy adventure

I did a re-read of these two just prior to reading Mockingjay. It really helped me get my brain back around the storylines and the characters. These are well-written books, taut and filled with moral dilemmas. The only thing that bugs me is Katniss' inability to connect and commit to either Gale or Peeta. Wonderful storytelling!