Hello All,
Yes, this review is contained in the previous post, but it needs to be by itself to be posted to the Countdown Challenge. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is the title I read for 2001.
This is a terrific YA title that is all about the underdog. TJ, the main character, is a mixed race adoptee in a very white area of Washington state, and is not the underdog in this story. It starts with TJ defending a mentally handicapped fellow student who wants to wear his dead brother's letter jacket, and the jocks who torment him. TJ decides that Chris should earn his own letter jacket, and eventually puts together a 5 man swim team of misfits. TJ leads the team to all improving their skills during the swim season, and all but one earn a letter jacket. TJ has several other situations in his life, and there is a surprising twist toward the end. This is a strong book, and TJ is a strong character.
Happy Reading!
Patti
Showing posts with label countdown challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label countdown challenge. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Books for Countdown Challenge
Hello All!
Whew! I think I've got most of a list for the Countdown Challenge. I used my TBR list from my Goodreads account, another TBR list I have that's written, and some award lists I checked out online. It was pretty fun for me, and all the books listed are books I have not read before.
2001
1. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (teen)
2002
1. Death Assemblege by Susan Cummings Miller (mystery)
2. Feed by M. T. Anderson (teen)
2003
1. The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard (teen)
2. Faking It by Jennifer Crusie (screwball romance)
3. Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green (fantasy)
(2003 alternate: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke [children's])
2004
1. Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (teen)
2. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (teen)
3. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (teen)
4. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (screwball romance)
2005
1. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac (teen)
2. Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (teen)
3. I am the Messenger by Mark Zusak (teen)
4. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (science fiction)
5. The Body in the Snowdrift by Katherine Hall Page (mystery)
2006
1. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (children's/teen)
2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (teen)
3. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
4. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
6. Dark End of Town by Julia Pomeroy (mystery)
2007
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (teen)
2. McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn (mystery)
3. Stealing the Dragon by Tim Maleeny (mystery)
4. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Mariller (teen, fantasy)
5. Territory by Emma Bull (fantasy)
6. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (mystery)
7. Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell (mystery/thriller)
2008
1. Bean There, Done That by Sandra Balzo (mystery)
2. Face of a Killer by Robin Burcell (mystery)
3. Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein (mystery)
4. How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (teen)
5. Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (fiction)
6. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (teen)
7. Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena (teen)
8. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (children's/teen)
(2008 alternate: A Grave in Gaza by Matt Rees [fiction])
2009
1. A Night at the Operation by Jeffery Cohen (mystery)
2. Big Dirt Nap by Rosemary Harris (mystery)
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (fiction)
4. The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta (mystery)
5. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (fiction)
6. Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas (fiction)
7. Fade by Lisa McMann (teen)
8. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (teen)
9. The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (fiction)
(2009 alternates: The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede [teen])
2010
1. First Rule by Robert Crais (mystery)
2. Blackout by Connie Willis (fantasy?)
3. Death Without Tenure by Joanne Dobson (mystery)
4. False Mermaid by Erin Hart (mystery)
5. A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow (mystery)
6. The Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs (mystery)
7. Gone by Lisa McMann (teen)
8. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
This is giving me a chance to read so many books I've been meaning to get to, especially the teen books, and I'm also getting to catch up on the books I own!
Happy Reading!
Patti
Whew! I think I've got most of a list for the Countdown Challenge. I used my TBR list from my Goodreads account, another TBR list I have that's written, and some award lists I checked out online. It was pretty fun for me, and all the books listed are books I have not read before.
2001
1. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (teen)
2002
1. Death Assemblege by Susan Cummings Miller (mystery)
2. Feed by M. T. Anderson (teen)
2003
1. The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard (teen)
2. Faking It by Jennifer Crusie (screwball romance)
3. Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green (fantasy)
(2003 alternate: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke [children's])
2004
1. Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (teen)
2. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (teen)
3. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (teen)
4. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (screwball romance)
2005
1. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac (teen)
2. Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (teen)
3. I am the Messenger by Mark Zusak (teen)
4. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (science fiction)
5. The Body in the Snowdrift by Katherine Hall Page (mystery)
2006
1. The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (children's/teen)
2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (teen)
3. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
4. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
6. Dark End of Town by Julia Pomeroy (mystery)
2007
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (teen)
2. McCafferty's Nine by Elizabeth Gunn (mystery)
3. Stealing the Dragon by Tim Maleeny (mystery)
4. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Mariller (teen, fantasy)
5. Territory by Emma Bull (fantasy)
6. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (mystery)
7. Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell (mystery/thriller)
2008
1. Bean There, Done That by Sandra Balzo (mystery)
2. Face of a Killer by Robin Burcell (mystery)
3. Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein (mystery)
4. How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt (teen)
5. Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (fiction)
6. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (teen)
7. Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena (teen)
8. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (children's/teen)
(2008 alternate: A Grave in Gaza by Matt Rees [fiction])
2009
1. A Night at the Operation by Jeffery Cohen (mystery)
2. Big Dirt Nap by Rosemary Harris (mystery)
3. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (fiction)
4. The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta (mystery)
5. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (fiction)
6. Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas (fiction)
7. Fade by Lisa McMann (teen)
8. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (teen)
9. The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian (fiction)
(2009 alternates: The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede [teen])
2010
1. First Rule by Robert Crais (mystery)
2. Blackout by Connie Willis (fantasy?)
3. Death Without Tenure by Joanne Dobson (mystery)
4. False Mermaid by Erin Hart (mystery)
5. A Night Too Dark by Dana Stabenow (mystery)
6. The Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs (mystery)
7. Gone by Lisa McMann (teen)
8. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
This is giving me a chance to read so many books I've been meaning to get to, especially the teen books, and I'm also getting to catch up on the books I own!
Happy Reading!
Patti
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Twitter & Blog Challenges
Hello All!
I have been on Twitter for about 5 months now, and have found a whole bunch of book bloggers to follow! It's a lot of fun, seeing and hearing about what others are reading and blogging about, and for me, easier than following blogs via RSS.
Several of these bloggers, and I assume many others, make up or follow reading challenges. These are lists of books to read in a particular genre, by a certain author, or just a number of books to read by a certain date. There are two cool ones in particular I'm planning on participating in:
Lost in Books blogger Rebecca (http://imlostinbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/4-3-2-1countdown-challenge.html ) is participating in a countdown challenge, and this one may only sound like fun to me, but I think I can come up with a good list for this:
"What is the Countdown Challenge? The goal of this challenge is to read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s — 10 books from 2010, 9 books from 2009, 8 books from 2008, etc. The total number of books required, therefore, is 55.
This challenge lasts from 9/9/09 through 10/10/10.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and your lists may change at any time.So that is a total of 55 books that can be overlapped with other challenges. Plus, as long as the book is published in the year you put it for, it can be fiction, nonfiction, biography, mystery, literary fiction, romance, whatever."
Making the list may be the most fun part...
The other challenge I'm looking forward to I read about on http://www.bookclubgirl.com/, and it seems as if Booking Mama conceived this one. It's the Shelf Discovery challenge, based on the book by the same name, which I happened to receive as an advance reading copy last year. The full title of the book is Shelf Discovery: Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzy Skurnick, and it's lists and commentary on classic teen books girls loved to read. I loved this book the minute I got it, and it's going to be such fun to make a list from this book too. The lists probably won't cross over, as the dates won't work, but it'll take me back to my teen years. I'm going to try not to reread favorites, but that may be hard to resist!
"SHELF DISCOVERY is a "reading memoir" which features over 70 MG and YA classics with Ms. Skurnick's unique impressions. There are also essays about these classics written by current women writers including Meg Cabot, Laura Lippman, Cecily von Ziegesar, and Jennifer Weiner. Details: The Shelf Discovery Challenge will run for six months (November 1, 2009 - April 30, 2010). To join me in this challenge, all you need to do is grab a copy of SHELF DISCOVERY and pick out what six books you want to read (of course, you can read more than six!) Then, after you read a book, just write a "book report" to share your thoughts with others!" More info about the challenge is at http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/2009/10/announcing-shelf-discovery-challenge.html
I'm excited about making the lists, and participating in the book/reading blogosphere more than I have in the past. Anyone want to join me?
Happy Reading!
Patti
On Twitter, I'm @bkwmn1992
I have been on Twitter for about 5 months now, and have found a whole bunch of book bloggers to follow! It's a lot of fun, seeing and hearing about what others are reading and blogging about, and for me, easier than following blogs via RSS.
Several of these bloggers, and I assume many others, make up or follow reading challenges. These are lists of books to read in a particular genre, by a certain author, or just a number of books to read by a certain date. There are two cool ones in particular I'm planning on participating in:
Lost in Books blogger Rebecca (http://imlostinbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/4-3-2-1countdown-challenge.html ) is participating in a countdown challenge, and this one may only sound like fun to me, but I think I can come up with a good list for this:
"What is the Countdown Challenge? The goal of this challenge is to read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s — 10 books from 2010, 9 books from 2009, 8 books from 2008, etc. The total number of books required, therefore, is 55.
This challenge lasts from 9/9/09 through 10/10/10.
Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and your lists may change at any time.So that is a total of 55 books that can be overlapped with other challenges. Plus, as long as the book is published in the year you put it for, it can be fiction, nonfiction, biography, mystery, literary fiction, romance, whatever."
Making the list may be the most fun part...
The other challenge I'm looking forward to I read about on http://www.bookclubgirl.com/, and it seems as if Booking Mama conceived this one. It's the Shelf Discovery challenge, based on the book by the same name, which I happened to receive as an advance reading copy last year. The full title of the book is Shelf Discovery: Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzy Skurnick, and it's lists and commentary on classic teen books girls loved to read. I loved this book the minute I got it, and it's going to be such fun to make a list from this book too. The lists probably won't cross over, as the dates won't work, but it'll take me back to my teen years. I'm going to try not to reread favorites, but that may be hard to resist!
"SHELF DISCOVERY is a "reading memoir" which features over 70 MG and YA classics with Ms. Skurnick's unique impressions. There are also essays about these classics written by current women writers including Meg Cabot, Laura Lippman, Cecily von Ziegesar, and Jennifer Weiner. Details: The Shelf Discovery Challenge will run for six months (November 1, 2009 - April 30, 2010). To join me in this challenge, all you need to do is grab a copy of SHELF DISCOVERY and pick out what six books you want to read (of course, you can read more than six!) Then, after you read a book, just write a "book report" to share your thoughts with others!" More info about the challenge is at http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/2009/10/announcing-shelf-discovery-challenge.html
I'm excited about making the lists, and participating in the book/reading blogosphere more than I have in the past. Anyone want to join me?
Happy Reading!
Patti
On Twitter, I'm @bkwmn1992
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