I'm going to be completely honest with you. I don't understand this book.

I mean, I get the general gist and the point the author is trying to make. What I don't get is how the majority of this book helps to make this point.

It starts with a battle royal - black kids beating each other while the white leaders of the town laugh and egg them on. It ends with a race riot. And in between, the main character (who has no name) learns what life is like for a black man in a white world.

Maybe it's because I expected the whole book to be the invisible man metaphor, like the prologue set it up to be. Just a metaphor, very profound, but not really personal. And then it turns out to be the life story of an actual guy and his repeatedly being betrayed by the white men.

Except he rises pretty far in the clandestine organization called the Brotherhood. And he becomes pretty confident in who he is and his ability to lead and make a difference. So why completely abandon that in despair and become "invisible"?

It's very possible that I just don't have the perspective to truly understand this story. After all, I'm a white girl who lives in a small town. And it's possible that in the 62 years since this book was published, things have changed so much that it's out of date. Things have certainly changed somewhat, but I think the recent events in Ferguson show that the problem is definitely not solved.

So I'm sorry to say that I don't really understand this book. I was hoping to write a deep, reflective review. I was hoping to gain wisdom and a new view into a world that is different than mine. I was hoping to be changed by this book.

I'm sure the fault is mine. This book is a classic, after all, so it has much merit. And the message is an important one. I'll just need to learn it better in a different book.

The holiday craziness is beginning, but I love this time of year anyway! Our church's Christmas concert was yesterday. I direct one of our children's choirs, as well as the adult handbell choir. I also sing in the adult choir, so it was a pretty busy concert. But it was tons of fun, and it's a great way to start this Christmas season - by remembering why we celebrate this holiday in the first place!

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (My "review" will be posted tomorrow.)
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Impressively researched!)

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Our book club selection for December. Fascinating, but not exactly light reading.)

Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (Time to treat myself!)

Leave it to A.J. Jacobs to try living by all the laws in the Bible for an entire year. Is there anyone else crazy and committed enough to try this? I’ve only read one other book by A.J. Jacobs – The Know-It-All, in which he reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. I really enjoyed his witty narration of working towards that goal and how it affected all aspects of his life. The Know-It-All gave me a taste of what to expect in The Year of Living Biblically.

Jacobs chose to follow the laws of the Bible (mostly) literally for a year. He spent two-thirds of his year focused on the Old Testament laws, which led him to wear a white robe, grow a rather unkempt beard, examine the linen content of his clothes very carefully, and stone an adulterer (more or less). During the last third of the year, he focused on the New Testament, making himself forgive grudges and finding wisdom in raising his son. He also contacted and visited religious leaders on both ends of the Jewish and Christian spectra.

I have to hand it to Jacobs. Since I am a Christian, I viewed The Year of Living Biblically with a bit of trepidation. This book had the potential to be thrown across the room in frustration, but that was never necessary. Jacobs treated all sides and all interpretations with respect. He presented their views fairly, even when he didn’t agree with them. For the most part, he kept his balance on the very thin line that is created whenever religion is involved. And while doing that, he still managed to be amusing and interesting.

I enjoyed reading Jacobs’ journey through the Bible, and I respect the way he treated every person and idea in his book (well, minus the adulterer he stoned). This was a rather unusual way to experience the Bible, but somehow A.J. Jacobs made it work. 

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

I love reading books that take place in different countries, so I signed up for three reading challenges this year that would help me do that!

This challenge was hosted by Rose City Reader. I officially signed up for the Deluxe Entourage level, which meant I needed to read five books, all of which needed to be set in different European countries. I wanted to challenge myself, so I set my sights at ten books set in different European countries. Well, I didn't quite make it. . . but I'm content with the eight I accomplished!

Germany: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Norway (Norwegian author): The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
United Kingdom: Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard
Italy: Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker
France: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Spain: The Curriculum Vitae of Aurora Ortiz by Almudena Solana
Austria: Vienna Nocturne by Vivien Shotwell
Ireland (technically Northern Ireland): The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom

The Global Reading Challenge (hosted here) and Around the World in 12 Books (hosted by Giraffe Days) had similar rules. For each challenge, I needed to read a book set on each continent (well, minus Antarctica). Then, for the Around the World challenge, I needed to read an additional six books to add up to twelve altogether, each of which needed to be set in a different country. These two reading challenges really stretched me as a reader, because I don't often read outside my comfort zone of Europe and the U.S. And I really enjoyed being stretched as a reader. I love experiencing things I normally wouldn't ever come across!

Africa: A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn (Egypt)
Asia: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan)
Australia/Oceania: The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (Australia)
Europe: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany)
North America: Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson (Canada)
South America: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
Seventh Continent: Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde (Kazam)

Africa: A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn (Egypt)
Asia: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan)
Australia/New Zealand: The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (Australia)
Europe: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Germany)
North America: Never Look a Polar Bear in the Eye by Zac Unger (Canada)
South America: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
The Constantine Codex by Paul Maier (Turkey)
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (Zimbabwe)
Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux (China)
The Case of the Love Commandos by Tarquin Hall (India)
Jerusalem Vigil by Bodie & Brock Thoene (Israel)
The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley (Thailand)

2014 is just about over, and so is this reading challenge. I hope you've had a great year of reading Newbery Medal winners, Newbery Honor books, and Caldecott Medal winners. (And you can continue to read them next year, if you like. You can sign up for the Newbery Reading Challenge 2015 here!)

So how many Newbery or Caldecott books did you read this year? Link your wrap-up post below or share in the comments!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My whole weekend was filled with lots of food and family time - which was awesome. But it also meant that I didn't get a lot of reading in (I didn't pick up my book for the entire day on Friday - gasp!). Ah, well. There will be other days. :)

What's in a Name & Read It Again, Sam - Challenges Complete!
The Last Dragonslayer & The Song of the Quarkbeast - Reviews
Reading Children's Classics as an Adult (My mom wrote a guest post about reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time. Check it out!)

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (An interesting peek into Japanese-American culture)

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (Still working on my Classics Club spin book. I'm about halfway through, so I'm getting there.)

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (This will probably be the last Newbery winner I squeeze in this year. I'll save the rest for next year's Newbery Reading Challenge!)