Sick Day Reading

A week-long cold has oficially graduated into a sinus infection. I'm sick of being sick - but thankful for a rich stack of old and new books...

Gone Crazy in Alabama, Rita Williams-Garcia
The Odds of Getting Even, Sheila Turnage
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, Alexander McCall Smith
Knucklehead, Jon Scieszka
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?, Lauren Child
A Baby Sister for Frances, Russell Hoban
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosch
So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger
Grief Undone, Elizabeth W. D. Groves
The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens

Summer 2015 Reading List

Ruby Redfort Catch Your Death, Lauren Child
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman
The Imaginary, A. F. Harrold and Emily Gravett
Apple of My Eye, Helene Hanff
A Sudden Wild Magic, Diana Wynne Jones
Anastasia Again!, Lois Lowry
The Four Graces, D. E. Stevenson
The Two Mrs. Abbotts, D. E. Stevenson
Luther on the Christian Life, Carl Trueman
The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
Mennyms Alone, Sylvia Waugh
Mennyms Alive, Sylvia Waugh
The Cockatoucan, E. Nesbit

Beach Reading

Kidlit
The Saturdays, Elizabeth Enright  
Dogsbody, Diana Wynne Jones
Hexwood, Diana Wynne Jones
Diamond in the Window, Jane Langton
Emily of New Moon, L. M. Montgomery  
Seriously Norman!, Chris Rashka
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, Trenton Lee Stewart
The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett (Audio Book)

Adultlit
Death of an Expert Witness, P. D. James
Snuff, Terry Pratchett
Monstrous Regiment, Terry Pratchett (Audio Book)

Too Many Books...?

I'm usually reading a couple books at the same time - one on my nightstand, and maybe something else during lunch at work or in the evening. And then there are the books I pick up for a night and then put down, fully intending to come back sooner or later (sorry Dr. Zhivago and Paradise Lost). But the following are all books I've been consistently dipping into over the last couple weeks, probably as a result of spending too much time at the library and owning a Kindle. I should also mention that a couple of these are stretches. So far, Augustine is very nice bedtime reading (i.e., it only takes a couple of pages before my eyes start to blur). And Paterson is almost totally incomprehensible, but I enjoy reading it out loud to myself on walks. City of God, Augustine The Art of Travel, Alain De Botton The Memory of Blood, Christopher Fowler Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant, Alan Jacobs The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, Diana Wynne Jones Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading, Eugene Peterson I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Audio Book) Night Watch, Terry Pratchett Paterson, William Carlos Williams

Packing for the Cape!

Kidlit The Middle Moffat, Eleanor Estes The Defense of Thaddeus A. Ledbetter, John Gosselink Reckless, Cornelia Funke Penny From Heaven, Jennifer L. Holm Unexpected Magic, Diana Wynne Jones Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson The Savage, David Almond, illus. Dave McKean A Single Shard, Linda Sue Park The Sherwood Ring, Elizabeth Marie Pope Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gardy D. Schmidt Adultlit Cover Her Face, P. D. James Gilead, Marilynne Robinson Joy in the Morning, Betty Smith

Kidlit for Grown-Ups, Part 2

Men of Iron, Howard Pyle Historic Fantasy / Jr High & Highschool /Pub 1919 Recommended by Janice Linnea in Monet's Garden, Cristina Bjork & Lena Anderson (illus) Picture Book / Elementary / Pub 1987 Recommended by Janice A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L'Engle Realistic Fantasy / Jr High & Highschool / Pub 1980 Recommended by Leta When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead Realistic SciFi / Jr High & Highschool / Pub 2009 Recommended by Lissy Emily of New Moon, L. M. Montgomery Historic Fiction / Jr High & Highschool / Pub 1923 Recommended by Liz Stories Jesus Told, Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen (illus) Picture Book / Preschool & Elementary / Pub 2005 Recommended by Sherry Max's New Suit, Rosemary Wells Picture Book / Preschool & Elementary / Pub 1979 Recommended by Sherry Waiting for Normal, Leslie Connor Realistic Fiction / Jr High & Highschool / Pub 2008 Recommended by Beth

Kidlit for Grown-Ups

This summer I'm hosting a children's lit club for grown-ups. Here's the list of book recommendations from our first meeting: My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett Elementary / Fantasy / Published 1948 Recommended by Emily Reckless, Cornelia Funke Jr High & Highschool / Fantasy / Published 2010 Recommended by Emily Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff Late Elementary & Jr High / Realistic Fiction / Published 2003 Recommended by Elissa Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt Late Elementary & Jr High / Realistic Fantasy / Published 1975 Recommended by Leta Otto of the Silver Hand, Howard Pyle Jr High & Highschool / Historic Fantasy / Published 1888 Recommended by Kathryn Operation Bonnet, Kimberly Stuart Highschool & Young Adult / Comedy of Errors / Published 2011 Recommended by Kathryn The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago Preschool & Elementary / Picture Book / Published 2007 Recommended by Sherry Phoenix Rising, Karen Hesse Jr High & Highschool / Realistic Fiction / Published 1994 Recommended by Liz Ice, Arthur Geisert Preschool & Elementary / Picture Book (no text) / Published 2011 Recommended by Beth Cosmic, Frank Cottrell Boyce Jr High & Highschool / Realistic Fantasy / Published 2008 Recommended by Beth The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope Jr High & Highschool / Historic Fantasy / Published 1971 Recommended by Lydia (email entry!)

Recent (Good) Reads

Seventy-Seven Clocks, Christopher Fowler (British mystery) The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Maryrose Wood (kid lit) Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, N. D. Wilson (theological musings) Ten Second Staircase, Christopher Fowler (British mystery) Keeper, Kathi Appelt (kid lit) The Chestnut King, N. D. Wilson (fantasy)

A Few Good Books (Lately Discovered)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card Gossamer, Lois Lowry The Magician's Elephant, Katie DiCamillo The Underneath, Kathi Appelt

Library Books

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke - according to the book jacket, "The capitivating sequel to Inkheart," which in turn was a "Delectably thick and transfixing fantasy..." according to Publishers Weekly. I can quite reliably confirm that Inkspell is also thick. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - the sequel to Stargirl, which I do not adore as much as Maniac Magee and Crash - but it's still a good read. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - I've been hunting for this book for a while - I read a review somewhere that piqued my interest. It's a mystery/puzzle of sorts set in 1979. I'm hoping that it will turn out to be in the grand tradition of The Westing Game. Eliza's Daughter by Joan Aiken - I ADORE Aiken's Wolves Chronicles, and I recently remembered that she wrote several romances that are loosely based on supporting characters from Jane Austen.