I hope everyone had a great weekend! Saturday, we traveled to a nearby town for a hot air balloon festival. It was a race, so we got to watch 25 hot air balloons launch within 45 minutes. It was an amazing sight to see!

A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman (Julie Lessman is quickly becoming my favorite Christian writer. Her books are amazingly good!)
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (I never would have picked this one up if it weren't a Newbery winner, but I'm so glad I did. It's really informative, and the pictures are a fascinating addition to the story of Lincoln's life.)

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (Enjoyable, as always!)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (75% complete!)
Raising Kids Who Read: What Parents and Teachers Can Do by Daniel Willingham (I wish I had read this one when I was still teaching. Great ideas!)

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory (I've got this one out from the library, but I'm not entirely sure I'm in the mood to read it right now. I'll give it a try and see how it goes.)

First of all - why do publishers feel the need to change covers between U.K. and U.S. editions of a book? And even more confusingly, for the book I recently read, they also changed the title!

Here's what I'm talking about:​

Surely those are two completely different books, right? Nope!

The cover (and title) on the left is the U.K. version. The cover is whimsical (well, maybe not the blood so much), and the old-timey map is wonderful. (I'm a sucker for maps both inside and outside a book.)

The cover on the right is the U.S. version, which means that it's the version that my library had, of course. The premise of the book is that a London police officer discovers that magic is real and is "drafted" into the branch of the police force that deals with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc. Not normally my kind of book, but I had heard it described as "grown-up Harry Potter" and wonderfully British, so I thought I would give it a try.

I enjoyed it, but I couldn't read it at night before I went to bed. In fact, I ended up piling other books on top of it on my nightstand because of the cover. The (spoiler!) revengeful ghost aspect of the story was really freaking me out, and I think I can partially trace that to the cover. The U.S. cover just looks scarier than the U.K. cover. To a certain extent, it affected my reading (and enjoyment) of the book.

It's official - my little guy is walking! He's been walking while holding on to something really well for a month now, but he finally gained the courage this week to let go and try it on his own. He's still pretty wobbly, but I love seeing how proud of himself he is when he tries. I have a feeling that all too soon, I'll regret wanting to rush him to this point because I won't be able to keep up with him anymore!

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (Classic British satire, focused on the newspaper industry)
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (I loved it, of course! Dumbledore's commentary was the best part.)
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Conflicted about this one. It was really original, but it kind of freaked me out.)

A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman (Something refreshing after my last read.)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (Almost two-thirds of the way through. I don't think I've ever actually seen the Disney movie, but I'm really wondering how they turned this story into a kids' movie.)

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (My Fforde reread for the month of May.)

How does the Newbery committee decide which book should win the award, and which should be the "runner-up"s? The number of Honor books has varied over the years, from none (for a few years at the beginning) to as many as eight (in 1931 and 1934 - now that is difficulty making a decision). It's obviously hard enough to decide which (and how many) books should be recognized in the first place. But then how do they decide which of those books is the winner of the actual Newbery Award?

I'm asking because I've actually read three of the four Newbery books for this year - The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (the Newbery Award winner); The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz and Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (both Newbery Honor books). And in my humble opinion, the two Honor books blew the winner out of the water.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon was a wonderful fantasy story, but it didn't stand out to me as different or better than many of the other fantasy stories published today. But The Inquisitor's Tale provided a unique storytelling method (reminiscent of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), a unique format ("illuminated" text), and a great way to learn about life in medieval times. Wolf Hollow has been compared by many to To Kill a Mockingbird, and the comparisons really do hold up, in its tone, atmosphere, and coming of age story that will touch your heart - and potentially have a profound effect on its readers, especially if that reader is a middle schooler. In my opinion, either of those books deserved to win the award.

I've rediscovered the wonder of audiobooks for getting a lot of reading done during the week. I used to listen to a lot of audiobooks while I nursed my little guy - but that doesn't happen so much anymore. And then I discovered podcasts, so I've been listening to a lot of those. But I participated in Bout of Books last week, and I knew I wanted to up my reading time with an audiobook. I made it through two and a half, and beat any previous Bout of Books record I had all to pieces. Audiobooks for the win!

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (Very enjoyable Downton Abbey-esque Christian fiction.)
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (My first audiobook of the week - only two and a half hours, so I finished it in a day. Newbery Award winner by a Michigan author!)
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (My second audiobook. Ten hours, and I finished it in three days. I'm beginning to see why everyone raves about this series.)
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier (Fabulous middle grade fiction! I loved this one!)

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (Trying to chip away at my Classics Club list. I have less than a year and a half left. I'm running out of time!)
​Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (Current audiobook. Any comparisons you've heard to To Kill a Mockingbird are pretty accurate, tone-wise!)

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (I don't know how I haven't read this one yet. I'll be fixing that this week!)

It's time for another round of Bout of Books! I'm going into this with no demands of myself - I'm just going to read however much I read. I did download an audiobook (or three), so that should help boost my numbers as well. Time to read!

Time spent reading/listening: One hour and 7 minutes
Total time spent reading/listening: Twenty-six hours and 1 minute
Number of pages read: 74
Total number of pages read: 850
Book I read from: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Book I listened to: Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Number of books finished: Four

Saturday brought the first garage saleing (saling? How do you spell that?) of the season. I headed to a nearby subdivision sale, and came away with lots of toys and clothes for my little guy - including a Thomas train set which my husband has spent hours playing with already. :​)

Books I Read Because of Podcasts
​Bout of Books 19 Sign-Up

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (We had our book club on Friday. We all were very impressed, both by McCullough's scholarship and writing and the Wright brothers' tenacity and innovation.)
Still Life by Louise Penny (The first audiobook I've listened to in quite a while. I enjoyed it, and I'm sure I'll try the next one in the series sometime.)
Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (Frank is an amazing character.)

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (I'm just about done with this one, and loving it as always!)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (I am enjoying this one, but I'd like it even more if Hugo could stay on topic.)

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky (I'm in the mood for some Christian fiction as a palate cleanser of a sort.)

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Okay, I just couldn't resist. I wasn't planning to do Bout of Books this time around, because I just don't have extra time in my life right now to devote to reading. I'm happy if I get through thirty pages a day. But then I decided that Bout of Books is low pressure, and I don't have to read any extra to participate. It's just fun to be part of the community reading together. So here I am, signing up!

Henry York arrives in the town of Henry, Kansas, to live with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins after his parents have disappeared. His bedroom is the attic, and one night, two knobs from a cupboard poke through the plaster. After chipping away at the plaster, Henry discovers that the whole wall is filled with cupboards, and each leads to a different place. Some of them are safe, and some of them are not. And all of them hold secrets about Henry and his family.

I was completely pulled into this book from page one by the writing. N.D. Wilson has a style that's just full of perfectly worded phrases that create such an image in your brain (what I like to call "shiver language"). I can't resist sharing two examples - "In the same summer, a bottle rocket brought the gift of fire to the bus station's restrooms." and "He was used to milk with transparent edges, milk that looked a little blue. This milk looked more like cream. . . In his mouth, he could feel it clinging to his tongue. His tongue didn't mind."  The writing brings both Henry the boy and Henry the town to life and sends them on breath-taking adventures. 100 Cupboards is the first book in a trilogy, and I am impatiently waiting to get back to the library to read the rest of the series. This is definitely a book that I will be buying and sharing with my little boy when he's old enough.

I first heard about this book on the Read Aloud Revival podcast (both episodes 44 and a bonus episode called "Some of the Best Books by Living Authors"). 

Alice Whitley is assigned to help literary recluse M.M. Banning produce her first book in many years. It turns out that "helping" her mostly entails taking care of her nine-year-old son Frank, who dresses like someone out of a 1930s film and marches to his own drum.

Frank is the best character I have met in a long time. Unique doesn't begin to describe him. Frank is the heart and soul of this book. While some of Alice's decisions drove me crazy, I was never disappointed in any scene in which Frank appeared. When I read the last page, I was so sad that I was done spending time with Frank. He's one of those characters who you feel is surely continuing to live their life, even though the book is over, and I only wish I could be part of that life.

I first heard about this book on the What Should I Read Next? podcast, episode 38.​

Penelope Lumley arrives at Ashton Place, determined to be the best governess she can be for her three new charges - only to discover that they are locked in the barn and can only howl instead of talk. They were raised by wolves in the woods surrounding Ashton Place, and Penelope suddenly has a rather different job than she expected.

Penelope Lumley has one of those voices that you just savor as you read a book. She is down-to-earth yet optimistic, determined to do her best even though she really doesn't have any idea how to go about doing that. The children are delightful, and the whole premise of the book is so well executed. This is the first book in a six-book series called The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, and I can guarantee that these are books I will be collecting and rereading.

I first heard about this book on the Read Aloud Revival podcast, episode 59 where the author, Maryrose Wood, was interviewed. (she even reads a snippet of this book, complete with howling!)​

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon was on Saturday! Did you participate? I had a great time! My husband did his best to give me the day off from taking care of my little guy, which mostly worked (he was a little clingy - working on those one-year-old molars). It was so wonderful to be able to sit and read without having to feel guilty about the myriad of things that weren't getting done. Can we do it again next weekend?

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (This was a book to read slowly and savor. It's beautiful!)
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (This is the first book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, and I loved it. I will be checking the next book out on my next visit to the library!)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Perfect read for a readathon. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.)

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (My husband is finally done reading this, so I now have access to it all day, which should speed up the process of finishing it!)
Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (I got halfway through this one during the readathon. Frank is quite the character.)
Still Life by Louise Penny (There is so much love for this series in the blogosphere that I decided to try the first book on audio during the readathon, even though murder mysteries are not really my thing. I'm enjoying it so far.)

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (This was supposed to be my April Fforde reread, but I seem to have run out of days. I guess I'll just have to read two in May!)