The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Considering I know nothing about crew, this book was really fascinating!)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (hence the Pivotal Moment)

I'm not sure. Probably something for my Mount TBR Challenge (the list is on my Reading Challenges page). I'm only a third of the way through that challenge, and we're three-fourths of the way through the year. I'd better start reading! (And staying away from libraries!)

The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things. Of ships and shoes and sealing wax. Of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot - and why I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird.

That's right. One of the greatest books in American literature, and I've never opened the cover. How can I claim to be a bibliophile if I've never even attempted to read To Kill a Mockingbird?


Well, that moment has come. My pile of library books has dwindled, and it is finally time to reach for To Kill a Mockingbird. Why this moment, you ask? Reading challenges have brought me here.

I added it to my Classics Club list, so I've got to get to it sometime in the next 5 years. Then I put it on my list for the Mount TBR Challenge, since I've owned it for more years than I care to admit without reading it. That makes the goal the end of December. Then I decided it would be my banned book for the Semi-Charmed Summer Reading Challenge. Which brings the deadline to the end of September. Yeah, that's not far away.

I'm actually looking forward to reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It's not that I haven't read it yet because I've been avoiding it. I was never assigned it in high school (which I think is when many people come across it), and I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I've heard people claim it is their favorite book, that it broadened their point of view, that it's one of the few books whose movie does it justice. And I've found very few readers on the other side of the fence.

So, here I am. About to embark on a reading adventure. Ready to join the rest of the world that has read and loved To Kill a Mockingbird. What are your thoughts? Have you ever read it? What did you think of it?

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things is a rather unusual approach to a biography. Each chapter begins with an object, which Paula Byrne uses as a springboard to explore Austen’s life, family, and novels. The objects range from Jane’s lap writing desk to a soldier’s cocked hat. Some were more related or personal to her than others. Some were definitely a stretch, yet somehow Byrne always found a connection.

If you want a chronological biography of Jane’s life, this is not it. It follows the general path of birth to death, but rather loosely. It skips all over, even within a chapter, since it’s more theme-based. If you want a general picture of Jane – and not just her, but the world she lived in – then this is the book for you. You learn a lot about Regency England, as well as subtle ways that Jane’s world entered her work. For example, I had no idea that Lady Bertram requesting an East Indian shawl in Mansfield Park was such a sign of the times and the fashion, but Byrne builds an entire chapter on the shawl, east India trade, and the London riots. Turns out many things in Austen’s novels have much greater social significance than I ever realized.

Any lover of Jane Austen should read this book. Not so much for the biography; there are other books that do that better. More for the picture of the world that Jane lived in and how that intertwines with the world of her novels.

Joey is a young architect in New York City who has had to work hard to get where she is. She’s proud of what she has accomplished and happy with who she is. Granted, there are always flaws in the perfect picture – she recently went through an awful break-up with someone at work, and she hasn’t talked to her best friend is a very long time. But overall, life is pretty good.

Then she gets offered her dream job: renovate the house where J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan. She’s always been a fan of Peter Pan (her dog’s name is Tink, after all), and she’s always loved England. What more could she ask for?

Things aren’t quite as perfect as she hoped when she gets to England, but she soon makes friends with a group of older women – the J.M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society. They can help her through anything, just like they’ve helped each other over the years.

This is a fun, light read. I love any book set in England, especially the Cotswolds (oh, how I want to go there!). The title is a little misleading, though. If you want a book about J.M. Barrie, this isn’t it. In my opinion, Zitwer could have made a lot more of that connection. The Ladies’ Swimming Society is delightful, though, and all of the characters are fun to get to know. There were a few plot jumps – moments when I thought the characters acted in a way that was inconsistent with where they were in that relationship, things that should have been stretched out for a longer period of time to be more believable. I have to admit that that did diminish my enjoyment of this book a bit. No book is perfect, though, and this one was still a good read with many engaging characters.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens - Review
My first Sarah Dessen experience (If you're a Sarah Dessen fan, please check out this post. I need some suggestions!)
Saturday Snapshot - British Book Posters

Let me check Goodreads to make sure, but I'm fairly certain - yup, it's true. I only read one book last week. It's amazing how much the school year slows me down. I've just got to learn to adjust my reading priorities. Quality, not quantity. Savor and enjoy each book. I'll work on that.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and now I've got to track down a copy of the Disney movie and watch it again.)

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

I have no idea! The Boys in the Boat is the last of my library books, so I have nothing with an imminent deadline. Time to venture upstairs to my personal library and peruse the shelves. . .

This is something I love about Britain. When I went to London for the first time in 2005, I was just astounded that they advertised books in this way - on the sides of buses and as posters in Tube stations. It's not something I've ever seen in America (although that doesn't mean it doesn't happen). When we visited London this summer, I made sure to take pictures of some of these book posters. What a great way to get the word out there about a new book!

A year ago, I had never heard of Sarah Dessen. Then I started discovering book blogs and reading online reviews, and her name came up many times - always positively. I've heard (okay, read) many people say that they love her books. My sister-in-law has said that Dessen is one of her favorite authors. So I decided recently that it was about time I read one of her books.

The library had several. I picked Keeping the Moon solely because it started with K, and I still needed one of those for my A-Z Challenge. It wasn't a very long book, and I read it pretty quickly. I even stayed up a bit later than I should one night to read it. But despite getting drawn in and not wanting to put the book down, I would not call my first experience with Sarah Dessen a rousing success.

It wasn't the storyline. I think Dessen did a great job of showing Colie's transformation from beaten down to confident. It was the supporting characters that spoiled the overall effect. So please forgive the following rant.

First of all, Morgan and Isabel. Are they sisters or just best friends? Not clear until at least halfway through the book. And why is Morgan so precise with everything at the diner, yet she flies off the hook emotionally? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

Secondly, Norman. I get that he was "disowned" by his dad because he wants to be an artist. I get that he lives in Mira's basement because of that. But how old is he? I'm figuring he's in college and is twenty at least, which would put him out of the way as a love interest for Colie. Nope, not the case. Let's just drop in, two-thirds of the way through the book, that he is only 17 and therefore "perfect" for Colie. You can't throw that in there after I think I already have this character figured out. Tell me earlier, so it's not out of the blue that he has a crush on her!

Okay, rant over. Here's the things I loved about this book: Mira. She is herself and perfectly content with that. I loved the way she never let anyone's comments faze her. 

I also loved how Dessen describes how it feels to be bullied. I've been there. I can relate, and I'd guess a lot of her high school readers could as well. And I loved the message of the book - you don't have to take it. You are a valuable person, and you can be confident in who you are.

Bottom line: I'm not sold on Sarah Dessen. Yet. But I'm not unsold either. I'm willing to give her another try. Has anyone read Sarah Dessen's books? Does anyone have a recommendation for me for my second attempt? I appreciate your comments!

Kate, Michael, and Emma are the orphans that no one wants. Except they’re not really orphans – their parents had to leave them when they were children to protect them. Kate, Michael, and Emma don’t know that they are anything special. But they’re about to find out.

The last orphanage they end up at turns out to be a magical city, cut off from the rest of the world. When they find a strange book in the basement, they end up travelling back in time, discovering what is so eerily strange about this town, saving the day (after many near-misses), and finding the Emerald Atlas. I know, I know. It sounds like I just gave away the ending. But that isn’t anything you couldn’t have guessed before reading this book. Well, maybe the travelling back in time part. . .

That’s not to say that this book is predictable. There’s enough twists and turns to keep any reader surprised. John Stephens’ world is intricate, especially with the whole time-travelling thing. That will complicate any plot, and it does so delightfully in this book. Kate, Michael, and Emma just made my heart break – believing that they are unloved and unwanted, yet fiercely devoted to each other. This is a book about love and family, encased in an extremely enjoyable story. If you enjoy The Hobbit or the Chronicles of Narnia, this is a great addition to your bookshelf. And better yet – it’s only the first in a series. There’s more Kate, Michael, and Emma to come!

Xingu and Other Stories by Edith Wharton - Review
Smiling Shelves Soapbox - Reading Challenges (Add your opinion! - Do you love or avoid reading challenges?)
After Rome by Morgan Llywelyn - Review

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski
Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
One for the Books by Joe Queenan
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr

Four books for the second week of school? I'm impressed with myself. But I know it only happened because my husband was out of town, and I had to lull myself to sleep by reading. 

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

This is my first book by Sedaris. I've heard a lot about him and a lot about this book, so I'm hoping it lives up to the hype of hilarity! It's too early to tell right now. . .

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (It's on my Classics Club list, and it's the reading selection for the Reading to Know Book Club this month. And I've always wanted to read it. Can you kill three birds with one stone?)

After Rome is the story of Britain after the Roman soldiers left around 410 AD. The civilization that everyone is used to begins crumbling, and soon it becomes every man for himself. Cadogan and Dinas are cousins with a complicated family past and very different personalities. Dinas wants to get what he can from the lack of civilization. He begins recruiting men to become pirates. The riches he gains will then allow him to become king in a land where any ambitious leader could grab the right to be king. Cadogan takes a leadership role reluctantly when the Saxon army burns his hometown, and he becomes the de facto leader of the remaining citizens. They start life over in the wilderness, learning how to do everything on their own.

I’ve typically enjoyed books by Morgan Llywelyn, and this one was no different. She researches thoroughly and creates realistic characters that grab your interest. My only feeling of dissatisfaction with After Rome is the rushed ending. Forty pages from the end I was wondering if this was simply the first book in a series; there was so much story line to go, if told at the pace of the rest of the book. But nope! – it was all wrapped up by the time the pages ran out. It felt much too rushed to me. There was much more story potential there. It almost seemed as if Llywelyn got tired of writing the stories of these characters. Other than that, this book gave a great picture of what Britain would have been like in a time period that hasn’t been written about much. It was an enjoyable and occasionally amusing read.