The holiday interrupted my reading pace. I’m back on track now. I think I should have the next novel (it’s about a teen and cancer) read through by the end of the weekend. I do find myself looking forward to next month and discussing books and thoughts and authors and more with other students.
I miss English classes.
YA author Ned Vizzini, 32 dies
One of the habits I have is reading over the NY Times obituaries. Sad story. Haven’t read Vizzini’s work, but now I’m interested.
Out of the Dust was amazing and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was great.
Maybe this is why I end up in English classes. On my own, there is no way I would have picked up either text. I like poetry, but I don’t love it, and the idea of reading a free verse story about Oklahoma during the dustbowl of the 1930s would never have entered my mind. And if someone would have said to me “you really ought to read this book about a high school girl who was raped” I would have exited the room quickly.
A couple of books back, yes, I bounced into a clunker of a story, but reading the past two novels has been a joy. I think I wrote this earlier, I truly admire and enjoy writing where the author uses language well and puts together something smart. Both Out of the Dust and Speak are showcases for the authors to run with ideas. For me, it’s like watching a talented athlete. These two writers have calculated and crafted, balanced and weighed their words. Their stories (for any reader) are displays of talent and skill.
Just 50 pages into Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust and, wow, this is good stuff. This dust bowl story already has me hooked. There’s a voice here, and the 14-year-old heroine is a complete person to me — funny, sad, worried, smart, talented.
This is so much better than what I had been reading yesterday.
More to come.
I thought about posting more on The Wednesday Wars, but I don’t have much to add. It was a book I ended up liking enough (it was a pleasant read) but found disappointing because I thought its depiction of one seventh grader’s life was over the top.
Still, I would read WW many times over, gladly, rather than try and go through Malinda Lo’s Ash. I want to be fair and speak plainly about my views on this young adult fantasy book. I looked at a couple of online review sites and, yes, the book does have fans that appreciate the author’s way of building a completely different world, her take on re-imagining a Cinderella-like story, and the depiction of a same-sex relationship. I’m glad that Lo has an audience that is supportive.
My view is similar to many of the reviews I looked over. I thought the main character, Ash, was flat and created little interest. As far as painting a new world of magic, faeries, myth, etc,, I don’t think I’m a good judge. I’m not a fantasy fan, and I found the long-winded descriptions and explanations of lost history overblown, pretentious, and (at times) ridiculous.
So far, the reading for this course has surprised me. I thought Bomb was as good a nonfiction book as any adult-focused history text. The Hunger Games was great storytelling . . . and it builds a new world where a female character drives the story. Ash isn’t the right fit for the type of reader I am.
I like intelligent storytelling, cleverness, wit. Ash (and I’ll stress this again, for me) is heavy, brooding, often obvious, and has not one breath of humor.
I’d add that, I think of myself as a well-read person. I have favorite writers and authors I can’t bear. My list of authors I deeply enjoy is long. Some of the ones I don’t connect with? I’ve tried to read Melville’s Moby Dick four times. Beth Streeter Aldrich is an author that bores me. I loathe Ford Maddox Ford. I run away from the books of Henry James.
I can’t imagine myself picking up a Malinda Lo book ever again. Well, once I finish reading the last 60 pages of Ash.
I know Gary Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars has won awards and is recognized far and wide. My own assessment is that the author has a gift for language and creates characters and situations I like. That being said, I wanted to like this book more.
The main character, Holling, is a smart young person and I think every reader would like him. I also enjoyed the kids and adults that populate the story. What I had a problem with in this novel is that Holling has just an absolutely shockingly eventful seventh grade year. He’s an actor, a track star, a hero that comes to the rescue of his sister, and is the luckiest pre-teen fan of the NY Yankees of the 1967 season. On top of it, at age 12, he’s developed a taste for Shakespeare and relates (on top of understanding) various plays to events in his life. A reader has to suspend disbelief quite a bit to make this work.
More soon.
I enjoy nonfiction. On radio, I make time to listen to This American Life. I’ve watched a lot of Frontline on PBS. My bookshelf has many works by Michael Lewis, who I think is masterful. I managed to do an oral history project for an undergrad honors thesis, too
I now know that Young Adult nonfiction can be tremendously good. Author Steve Sheinkin is a wonderful story teller. His story about the making of the atom bomb is a fact-filled thriller, and I learned a great deal from the book. In all seriousness — bravo.
History books should all be this good
I’m thoroughly enjoying my time reading Bomb by Steve Sheinkin. It’s a great nonfiction work that covers the invention and intrigue surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb. I’ll write more about it after I finish the book.
I did pop out to the author’s website. Sheinklin, a former textbook writer, has an open apology letter posted. In his former job he knows he helped author boring copy. He’s more than making up for it now.
More soon.
One of the best things Kurt Vonnegut also said about writing is also worth mentioning — Pity your reader.
The third degree . . . this time education 