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Dusting Off The Bookshelf

I've been testing my literacy lately, so I figured I'd pull a mini-Julie and post some book "reviews".

1. City of Ember
This was a "read-aloud" book project. Started it on the trip down to Miami for Christmas. Laura would read while we drove and the girls watched DVDs in the backseat. Then Ali started to get more interested in the book than the DVD. Good stuff!

It's a juvenile fiction novel with a setup that is a little cumbersome to describe, but easy to understand. Click the link above, read it, and come back.

Part "coming of age" (but without any romance), part detective novel, it's an enjoyable, breezy read with characters that sometimes border on caricatures (the mayor, por ejemplo). The suspense builds nicely. I actually got tense a few times, got the chills once, and celebrated the characters journey through to the end.

Which, isn't really THE end because there are three more books that follow. I haven't seen the movie yet, but am planning on it.

If you like well-written juvenile fiction, an intriguing setting, and an unfolding mystery, give it a spin. We're about halfway through the second book and still enjoying the story and characters.

2. Rising Stars
This was a finite comic book saga written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 creator) several years back. I recently picked up the third (and final) trade paperback collecting the story (Amazon lists volumes 4 & 5, but those are collections of backstories and spin-offs).

Premise: A strange force (kinda like an energy comet) strikes the town of Pederson, IL. The force affects the 113 in utero babies at the time of impact—all of them are born with superhuman powers. The story is told by Poet, one of the 113, in a series of flashbacks from 60 years or more after the force struck. The big twist? Someone starts killing of the supers. Why? To what end? And does this force have a bigger purpose?

Normally I hate lots of flashbacks, but it's really more like JMS is telling the story normally with a number of short flash-forwards to the Poet commenting on what happend. The large bulk of the story is told in "real time", so the time continuum is easy to follow.

3. John, Ephesians, and Phillipians
The Bible. You've heard of it. Good stuff in there.

4. The Twilight Saga
I believe the best description I've read for these is "literary crack". Are they well written? Yes, but they can drag from time to time. Are the characters fleshed out? Yes, but it always feels like we're just skimming the surface of what they're made of. Are the relationships believable? Not so much, but you're having so much fun going along for the ride that you don't care.

Could these books be more? Yes. Are they enjoyable and addicting as is? Absolutely. I demolished all four in a row.

Questions? Recommendations?

Ready To Shine

I've been putting off this post in the hopes of recording the song that goes along with it, but events have conspired against me for the last few weeks, so...

Ali can officially read. Last month, she finished the 100th lesson in "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons". Laura had been using the book as part of her English homeschool curriculum. It's really an amazing book. Ali can now read most children's books (like Dr. Seuss stuff, not juvenile fiction!) and is great at sounding out words she doesn't know. We're quite proud of our little girl. She worked super hard and it shows.

According to the book, she now reads at a 2nd grade level. I only say "according to" because I have no idea how a 2nd grader reads. But if they read as well as Ali, I'm thrilled.

Wait. Laura used to teach 2nd grade. Maybe she knows...

Here's a pic from the momentous final lesson that we did together as a family.

UPDATE: Some of you have asked how old Ali has been while doing this. She started when she was about 5.5 years old. She finished in March, and will be 6 in May. Laura has been homeschooling her for kindergarten.

Now That's Funny

HT: Daring Fireball

John Piper For Free

I'm not sure when this started, but you can get a whole bunch of John Piper's books for free in the store section his Desiring God website. I'm not talking online excerpts or whatnot. These are PDFs of the whole book. Formatted, no less.

From bestsellers like Desiring God and Don't Waste Your Life to new releases The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World and What Jesus Demands from the World, they're all there. Just look for a little "Read this book online" link under the product description. It almost always links to a PDF. Study guides, too.

UPDATE: I just found a post here explaining their philosophy behind all this.

I Told You

Ali climbs up into bed with me this morning and says, "Daddy will you read this book to me?"

As any caring father would, I say, "Sure sweetie." Then I opened my eyes. "No, I can't read that one."

"Why, daddy?" she innocently asked.

I had to fess up and say, "Because it'll make me cry," for she did not yet know the emotional power of The Giving Tree.

But she asked again so sweetly, and I thought maybe I could make it since I was reading it aloud to someone else...

I didn't get past the tree giving him the apple. The friggin' APPLES. The tree's renewable resource, for goodness sake. We ended up just looking at the rest of the pictures.

And... I'm Spent

NO (BOOK 7) SPOILERS IN THIS POST.

Thank you, Ms. Rowling, for a fantastically wonderful adventure these last nine years. It has been one of my life's favorite literary journeys.

To the rest of you, if you haven't picked up the books yet and have $120 to drop, why not get the deluxe super-awesome trunk set of all seven? Comes with stickers.

My favorite part is the little change Amazon made to their page: "Attention muggles! This item will be available on September 18, 2007."

All in all, a very satisfying end to the series. I laughed, I didn't quite cry (wept like a baby at the end of six), and it was most certainly better than Cats.

Harry did not, as had been suggested to me, gender transform and give birth to the final horcrux. So that was comforting.

It is a little melancholy to think that it's all over. There will be no more new Harry Potter stories to look forward to. As I remarked to a friend who was mourning the end of the series, "It's kinda like they're all dead." She was... not appreciative.

As the inevitable question of, "What to read next?" looms overhead, the sad truth is that there is nothing on my bookshelf that captures my imagination me as much as the wizarding world of Harry Potter did. Perhaps I'll move to nonfiction for a spell and enjoy, for as long as I can, the slowly fleeting warmth of my that-which-has-now-ended.

Media Blackout

I'm going on a media blackout until I finish Harry Potter. I have no idea where I might encounter spoilers, even on the seeminly "safe" sites, so amusing tidbits may be in slim supply this week.

This will most likely affect the tumblelog more than this place, but just a heads up. You'll have to find your own videos of inmates dancing for now.

All Things Potter

During our creative team staff meeting this morning, our manager was sharing information we got from Warner Bros. at a big "brand assurance" meeting held earlier in the week. Since we start laying the ground work for the launch of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter now, they want to make sure we're on the same page. A pretty pro-active move. I dig it.

One of the items shared was some target audience and affinity numbers. The conversation when something like this:

Manager 1: Ages 18-34 are the biggest Harry Potter fans.
Manager 2: Losers!

Needless to say, the four of us in the room (of 8 people) who have read the books and seen the movies all had a good laugh about it afterwards.

But just now I read about a group of students at Bucknell University (my mom's alma mater, no less) who are trying to play Quidditch.

Interesting side note: After 34, Potter fandom drops off--until a sharp spike in 50-54. Small sample size? Strange fending-off-senior-citizenry reading habits? Who knows.

Tide Me Over

Laura is a far faster reader (and with greater comprehension, as fate would have it), so she always gets first dibs on the new Harry Potter books. And with one soon to grace our doorway within the week, I need something to tide me over until she's done--which could be as short as 1 day depending on how much we're willing to neglect our children.

Since I'm knee-deep in theology texts for this summer's young adults Bible study we're leading, I've been opting for light reading, mostly in the juvenile fiction realm. I read both the Eragon books earlier this year, and I just finished the second of the Fablehaven series (which was fabu, btw). Laura keeps pimping Charlie Bone, so maybe I'll try that. It's about the length I'm looking for.

Any other suggestions?

PS: If you're looking for a way to "cover up" your Potter in public, check out these funny, but possibly offensive, DIY book jackets.

Wizard Rock

As you get ready for July to become The Month of Potter, make sure you stock up on the proper music. Namely, the musical stylings of Harry and the Potters.

Free singles here. CDs and records (yes, vinyl) at the link above. Also on iTunes.

Highlights include "Save Ginny Weasley" (mainly for the line "are you petrified of being petrified?") and "This Book Is So Awesome".

I haven't listened to the companion band, Draco and the Malfoys, but I'm sure they're haughty, pretentious, and have a bad bleach job.