What I’m Reading

It has been awhile since I’ve blogged about my re-read challenge.  I am still plugging away at Le Morte d’Arthur.  It is long and I’m taking my time.  I started out reading Le Morte d’Arthur in the version above.  I am finishing up in the version below.  I will finish this book as soon as I can and move on, but rather than have a re-read challenge, I’ll just blog about books I’m revisiting.

I finished The Silver Music Box by Mina Baites recently and will post a review as soon as possible.  This is a story of a family starting in the early 1900s (during the First World War) and ending in the 1960s.

I am currently reading Let Go by Sheila Walsh.  She released some very good records in the 1980s-early 1990s and she is a good writer.  The main point of the book is to trust God and look to God for your self-image, not other people or your circumstances.  I will do a longer review later.

What I’m Reading-Re-Read challenge

For my re-read challenge, which I last blogged about HERE  I finished the holiday stories by Washington Irving and Charles Dickens, and read The Nutcracker.  I am still plugging away at the King Arthur collection, specifically Le Morte d’ Arthur.  It is long.  I will finish this collection as soon as I can.

I think next on my re-read challenge will be Peter Pan.

And Alice In Wonderland and then I’ll go on from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Cutthroats & Curses

I am currently reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente, and although the story is somewhat quirky and unusual, it’s also imaginative and engaging.  I will finish it ASAP and share my thoughts when I get a chance.

I am also reading Cutthroats & Curses:  An Anthology of Pirates.  I have loved pirate lore since the first time I saw Disney’s Peter Pan and went on the Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean rides at Disneyland as a kid, so I am enjoying these pirate-themed short stories by various authors.

Re-read challenge update

I finished the Silver Chair, which I was reading when I made last month’s post, and I have read The Horse and His Boy.  I am about at the halfway point with The Magician’s Nephew.

Next will be:

The Last Battle, and I will be done with the Chronicles of Narnia.

After that, I plan to read Robin Hood

and then

Gulliver’s Travels.  I am having fun with this.  It will be interesting to see what I have read at the end of the year.  I do have a long list of books I want to re-read.

The re-read challenge

 

I found the re-read challenge on Hannah’s site.  http://www.soobsessedwith.com/2014/12/the-re-read-challenge-details-sign-up.html

I thought it would be fun to just make a list of books I want to re-read and see how many I can read before December.  It’s a long list, and I may not get to all of them, but it’s worth a try.

I want to reread The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

The Circle Series by Ted Dekker.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne,.

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.

And something by Jane Austen and/or one of the Bronte sisters (haven’t decided what yet).

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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

(Book image from Wikipedia).

First of all, I want to make it clear that nothing I say here is meant in any way to knock Ms. Meyer or Twilight fans.  I have done my share of being a fan of various books, T.V.  shows and/or movies and I figure the author must have done something right for her book to sell so well and be made into a movie.

Admittedly I got around to reading Twilight late in the game, eight years after it was published.  For the most part, I enjoyed it, but my take is that it’s overrated. Again, I don’t say that to criticize anyone.   I think that’s probably the case with the majority of the “best sellers”; however, that’s a topic for another post.

What I like about the book:   I have a weakness for love stories, and I think the underlying love story is appealing. The author has a good understanding of the alienation many young people deal with.   The idea that vampires can be caring and have consciences is an interesting one. 

What I have issues with:  Bella is essentially going “oh, this guy is dangerous and might kill me, but I just love him so much anyway and I’ll go ahead and die.”  That doesn’t strike me as a good message.  Bella and Edward also spend a little more time rolling their eyes and focusing on how good they smell to each other than I think is necessary.

It was a fun read, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to read again, and I likely won’t read the rest of the books in the series.