28 - names my sisters call me

so i discovered megan crane's books last summer.  many a day by the pool was spent reading her stories and then i ran out of anymore to read.  until this week, when i realized she had published another book.  yay!  i like crane's books for the same reason i like jane green - she writes for women (some would say "chick lit," but but the feminist in me is debating whether or not she likes that term anymore) without falling into the trap of assuming her audience only wants to read about shoes, crazy friends, financial irresponsibility, sex, etc.  i have enjoyed all of her books because they have all been very different from each other and have all stayed away from that cliché that is the "chick lit" novel.

27 - code talker

i picked code talker by joseph bruchac up a few weeks ago and finally got around to reading it the other day.  let me just say this . . . there is A LOT of history packed into 214 pages.  i learned more about the pacific front of world war II from this book than i think we ever talked about in high school.  (and yes, i realize how disappointing that is.)  both of my grandfathers served in the pacific, so i was drawn into this book in a different way than i normally am.  i was constantly wondering if  bruchac's VERY REALISTIC descriptions of the battles were what my grandfathers saw and experienced.  it is kind of a reality check to realize that they probably did - and more.

because the code talkers were navajo*, much of this book concentrates on what life was like for navajo boys and girls in the 1920's and 1930's as they (like many other children from tribes all over the country) were being sent off to boarding schools where they were forced into assimilation (if you want to read a powerful short story about this topic, go here).  the greatest irony of this assimilation is that these children were constantly being told how unimportant their native language was.  thankfully - for so many reasons, they continued to speak it and in just a few short years that "unimportant" language ended up saving thousands of lives.  being a language person, the portions of this novel dedicated to stressing how important communication is and how it connects us to our past blew me away.  being a teacher, i can't wait to use portions of this book with my classes this year.

while this wasn't a suck-you-in-can't-put-it-down type of book (for me), it has sparked an interest to learn more about world war II, specifically the pacific.  in my mind, any book that inspires more questions has done it's job.

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*i knew that the u.s. military recruited people who could speak native languages during world wars I and II.  not just the navajo were recruited, but (according to the book) the navajo code talkers were the only group of men to create a code based on their language.  

26 - a great and terrible beauty

don't get me wrong, i love harry potter as much as the next person, but to be quite honest, i've never been one to get into books about the occult.  not for any ethical reason, i just tend to drift toward memoirs and biographies, historical fiction, and contemporary reality fiction when i am walking the aisles of barnes and noble.  but here's the deal with teaching adolescents - THEY tend to LOVE books like harry potter, cirque du freak, twilight, etc.

i've been meaning to read libba bray's gemma doyle trilogy for the last year or so, but never got around to it.  this summer, though, i have decided is my gemma doyle summer, especially after reading a great and terrible beauty and now wanting to read what happens next.  despite being a little confused at the end, i really enjoyed this book.  it kind of reminds me of a more mature secret garden, but that is probably just because both books start out in india in the late 1800's. hopefully, my confusion will get cleared up after some discussion, rereading, or moving into rebel angels, book two.

i'll definitely be mentioning this book (and hopefully the other two if they are as good) to my students when we return to school - especially to those who seem to think that life only exists in forks, washington with bella, edward, and jacob.  while i must admit that the twilight series is fun to read, i liked AGTB just as much (and maybe more!).  most of the reason for that is because the heroine, gemma, is awesome.  i know, i know . . . kind of a weak description.  but seriously, i like how bray made gemma a character who is CONSTANTLY questioning everything she has been told about who she is suppose to be.  there is a definite feminist message to this book, which is made even more clear at the end in the author interview printed at the back of the copy i read.  i love me some girl power books, so this one quickly gained my appreciation.

also, libba bray - yay texas girls who write! - keeps a blog, so if you like to read writers' blogs like i do, check hers out.  i just found it today, so i'm not sure what all is on it.

25 - the tie that binds

here's another kent haruf novel.  i've written before about why i love his books so much, and the tie that binds did not disappoint.  this novel was a little different from his others, which are usually written in (here's an english teacher word for you) third person omniscient point of view - you get the story told from a variety of perspectives and you get to be inside the head of several different characters.  if i am remembering correctly, all of haruf's books that i've read thus far are written in this style.  the tie that binds, his first novel, is not.  

instead, it is told by sanders roscoe, who now may just be one of my favorite characters from a novel.  (he's up there with scout.)  i could go on and on about why i love haruf's writing as much as i do, but one (main) reason is the characters in his novels.  because he has such a gift at creating interesting characters with authentic voices, it was a treat to read an entire book told in one of those voices.  i really felt like i was sitting at a small town cafe, drinking coffee and eating pie with sanders roscoe while he was telling me his story.

that said, none of haruf's books are very lighthearted.  they deal with very real and serious issues.  i tend to cry quite a bit when i read his books, not because they are sappy, but because i connect so deeply to the themes and issues and characters and settings set forth on his pages.  

24 - notting hell

i really wanted to like this book because, well, it's british chick lit and typically, that is right up my alley. not the case with this book. i just didn't get it. the characters annoyed me. the notting hill "name-dropping" references (for which there is a 7 page glossary at the back for stupid americans like me - yes. SEVEN PAGES!), which were endless, were lost on me. i thought the attitude toward marital infidelity was flippant. perhaps i am not rich enough or london savvy enough to have enjoyed this novel. but, you know what? i'm okay with that. normally, after i read a book set anywhere in england or scotland i am ready to pack up everything and move "across the pond" (as they say). um. this book kind of makes me understand my fellow americans who feel like europeans are ridiculous. i never thought i would understand that thought . . .

yikes. do yall realize how hard it is for me to NOT like a book? usually i can find something redeeming. ooooh. i really like the name of the book. catchy. clever. witty.

23 - h.r.h.

i've mentioned before that i am a danielle steel fan . . . sometimes you can't beat being wrapped up in one of her books while you are either curled up on the couch on a rainy day or roasting yourself by the pool during the summer.  the first d.s. book i ever read was zoya, and i still love it and reread it occasionally.  the books i remember reading during my high school and college summers, though, were sagas . . . and i miss those.  the last two of her books i've read have stretched out only over one year, and h.r.h. is no exception.  maybe after SEVENTY-ONE books, steel is a little tired and doesn't feel like writing the 600 pages sagas anymore - could you really blame her? 

but, you know what?  this book still fulfilled it's purpose and helped me kill a few hours by the pool.