The Semicolon Book Club selection for February is Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. There will be a discussion post on the 28th here at Semicolon. So if you’re reading with us, it’s time to get the book and get reading.

I can spend a lot of time playing Lexulous (Scrabble) if I let myself.

I’m looking forward to my now-annual blog break for Lent. It’s not that I’m tired of blogging, just that I’m ready for an enforced break. Even a self-enforced break.

My sister, Judy, just started her book blog a few weeks ago, and it’s great. If you get tired of reading recycled Semicolon during the forty days of Lent, go over read at Carpe Libris.

I’m starting a new blog project while I’m on break: come back and read all about it on Tuesday, Mardi Gras. Do you do anything special on the Tuesday before Lent? Do you do anything special to observe Ash Wednesday?

Sunday Salon: Books Read in January, 2010

Jan31

Fire by Kristin Cashore. Semicolon review here.

The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien. My birthday post for Tolkien includes thoughts about The Children of Hurin.

After the Moment by Garrett Freyman-Weyr. Semicolon mini-review here.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Semicolon mini-review here.

Comfort by Joyce Hostetter. Semicolon mini-review here.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Semicolon mini-review here.

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness. Sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go. However, we’re not finished yet. Resolution is yet to come. The story is not over. If you’re going to write a three-part novel, like Lord of the RIngs, then wait until you’ve finished all three parts to publish it. Do you hear me, Mr. Ness? Ms. Collins?

Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Semicolon review here.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell. Semicolon review here.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. Semicolon review here.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. The huge cover controversy has made it almost impossible to talk about the book in terms of its own merits or demerits. I”ll try to do so in a future review.

Hidden Voices by Pat Lowery Collins. The premise was promising: Antonio Vivaldi “wrote countless concertos to showcase the talents of orphan girls at a Catholic school in Venice.” Hidden Voices tells the intertwined fictional stories of three of those orphan girls. Unfortunately, the book starts out very slowly, and when about halfway through it finally starts to get interesting, the reader is suddenly confronted with a scene of graphic sexual violence (rape). The story goes downhill from there. And you don’t really learn much about Vivaldi either.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen.

Forest Born by Shannon Hale.

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Semicolon review here.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon.

Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles R. Swindoll. Thoughts on this book and on the book of Esther in the Bible here.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass.

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. I’ll write about these last two children’s fiction books soon. However, If I’d read them sooner they would both have been on my list of best middle grade fiction of 2009.

Sunday Salon: Gleaned from the Saturday Review

Jan24

The Sunday Salon.com Ghost Writer by Rene Gutteridge. Reviewed by Word Lily. This mystery sounds intriguing.

Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by John Meacham. Reviewed by Carrie at Reading to Know. I really already had this one on my radar, but Carrie reminded me that I want to read it. Winston Churchill, whatever you may think of his politics, was a fascinating man, and the same could be said of FDR.

Searching for Pemberly by Mary Lydon Simonsen. Reviewed at Diary of an Eccentric. This Jane Austen spin-off is set in England just after WW 2. The reviewer, Anna, makes it sound a cut above the recent spate of Jane Austen rewrites and sequels.

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. Jennifer at 5 Minutes for Books gave this one to daughter Amanda, and it was a hit. I saw Mr. Bosch, sort of in disguise, at the Texas Book Festival, and I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since. Some of the kids at the festival were real fans.

Murder on the Cliffs by Joanna Challis. Reviewed at S. Krishna’s Books. Daphne du Maurier investigates a murder in a setting reminiscent of Rebecca. If it’s done well, this concept could be amazing.

The Confederate General Rides North by Amanda Gable. Recommended at A Bookshelf Monstrosity.

Island of the World by Michael O’Brien. Laura says it’s a “best book ever.”

By the way, the linky for the Saturday Review got messed up yesterday, and I lost the first 50 or so links that were left on Friday night and Saturday morning. If you left yours and it’s gone now, please re-link for the benefit of all of us.

Sunday Salon: Looking Forward To . . More Books

Jan17

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork, coming March 1, 2010 from Arthur A. Levine Books. Brought to my attention by Mitali at Mitali’s Fire Escape.

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. Recommended by Caite. A mystery, first in a series, set in England, sounds sort of P.D.James-ian. I’m in.

The Ever-Breath by Julianna Baggott. Recommended by Melissa of the Bonny Glen.

Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran. Reviewed by Fleurfisher. Due to be published in February, 2010.

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith. Publication date: January 12, 2010. I generally like anything Mr. McCall Smith writes.

The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale. This debut novel just looks interesting: mid-eighteenth century London, a fireworks factory, a hidden and illegitimate pregnancy, comparisons to Jane Eyre and A Year of Wonders.

Tea with Hezbollah: Sitting at the Enemies Table Our Journey Through the Middle East by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis. Publication date: January 26, 2010. Sounds fascinating. “Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.”

Heist Society by Ally Carter. Publication date: February 9, 2010. Katarina Bishop is an ex-con artist from a family of thieves, pulled back into a life of crime by the need to protect her father. This book is the first in a new series by the author of the Gallagher Girls books.

Keeping the Feast by Paula Butterini. Publication date: February 18, 2010. A memoir set in modern-day Europe about a couple of journalists who marry and then have to deal with injury and loss.

The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade by Susan Wise Bauer. Publication date: February 22, 2010. I probably won’t read this one straight through, but rather I’ll enjoying browsing and reading bits and pieces and using it as a reference book. However, it’s one that I am looking forward to in particular.

Epitaph Road by David Patneaude (Egmont, March 2010). Summary from ARC: In 2067, an airborne virus wiped out 97 percent of the male population. Thirty years later, women rule the world and have ushered in a new golden age on Earth. Poverty, crime, war, and hunger have all disappeared. Growing up in this utopia, fourteen-year-old Kellen Dent feels isolated as one of the few males alive. When a rumored outbreak of the virus threatens Kellen’s outcast father, he knows that he must warn him of the coming danger. During his desperate race to find his dad, Kellen uncovers a secret so frightening that his life and the future of the world will never be the same. Found at the blog of Abby the Librarian.

This Body of Death: An Inspector Lynley Novel by Elizabeth George. Publication date: April 20, 2010.

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith. Publication date: April 20, 2010.

Clementine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker. Publication date: July 27, 2010.

The as-yet-untitled third book in the Hunger Games series (available August 24, 2010).

They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney. Recommended by Jen Robinson.

I’ve found these hither and thither as I’ve been reading blogs. Thanks to those who have recommended these my TBR list is even longer than it was before.

Sunday Salon: Twelve Projects for 2010

Jan3

For the last couple of years, instead of resolutions, I’ve been thinking in terms of projects, lots of projects that I wanted to complete during the year. I wouldn’t say I was any more or less successful with my projects than most people are with resolutions, but I like the tradition anyway and plan to to continue it this year. So here are my twelve projects for 2010, with evaluations of how I did on some of the same projects in 2009.

1. Bible Reading Project. Last year’s Bible reading project was a qualified success. I didn’t read every day, and I didn’t study the books and passages I chose as intensely as I wanted, but I did read and study some. This year’s Bible reading plan is the same as last year’s: choose a book or part of a book of the BIble for each month of the year, read it daily, and study it using some good study tools. Take notes in my Bible and maybe this year in a journal, too. The selections for this year:

January: Esther. The women of my church are going on retreat in early March, and we’ll be studying the book of Esther. So I thought I’d get a head start.
February: Revelation 1-11. My pastor is preaching through Revelation this spring, so I thought I should be reading it. Revelation is my least favorite book in the Bible, so I’ll need some major self-discipline and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to finish this project.
March: Exodus 1-12 in preparation for Resurrection Sunday (April 4, 2010) and remembering Jesus, our Passover lamb.
April: Revelation 12-22.
May: Exodus 13-20.
June: I Timothy
July: Exodus 21-30.
August: II Timothy
September: Exodus 31-40.
October: Titus
November: Psalms 11-15.
December: Psalms 16-20.

2. Pulitzer Project. This year for the Pulitzer Project I read Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor and found it very absorbing and thought-provoking, one of the best books I read this past year. This next year I plan to read March by Geraldine Brooks and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

3. My Newbery Project for last year was also something of a bust. I think I got stuck because the winners for 1925 and 1926 were both story collections, and I don’t like story collections. I may skip the storybooks and get back on track this year.

4. Homeschooling Project: I need to focus on homeschooling the three remaining students in our homeschool.
Karate Kid (age 12)
Betsy-Bee (age 10)
Z-Baby (age 8)
You’ll see posts about how that project is going, plans for school and reading and science and history and field trips and all manner of educational schemes and visions. Perhaps you’ll also see a few desperate pleas for HELP! Just because I’ve graduated four students doesn’t mean I know how to homeschool the rest of the bunch.

5. Operation Clean House. I thought last year that if I took a room or area of the house and concentrated on that section each month, I might get somewhere with the de-cluttering and cleaning. Maybe. I didn’t. So this project is a repeat.
January: My closet and dressing area.
February: The rest of my bedroom.
March: Front hallway and entryway.
April: Living Room.
May: Kitchen.
June: Laundry room.
July: Half of the gameroom.
August: The other half of the gameroom.
September: Front bathroom.
October: Z-baby’s bedrooom.
November: Karate Kid’s bedroom.
December: Sit back and enjoy my reorganized home?
I might even, if I’m brave enough, post before and after pictures to keep myself motivated.

6. LOST Reading Project. I really want to get back to this project this year. I read Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin, enjoyed it, and tried a couple of others on the list that I didn’t care for at all (A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and The Third Policeman by Flann Oâ€™Brien).
This year I think I’d like to read Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabakov and perhaps, Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor. I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough to “get” Flannery O’Connor, but I’ll give it a try.

7. The U.S. Presidents Reading Project has a list of all of the U.S. presidents and suggested reading selections (non-fiction) for each one. The challenge is to read one biography of each one. Last year I read biographies of George Washington, John Adams, James and Dollie Madison, and Alexander Hamilton (I know, not a president, but closely related). This year I plane to continue with biographies of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, not necessarily in that order. I skipped Jefferson because I don’t like him very much.

8. Tournament of Reading Project. Probably the only reading challenge I sign up for this year, The Tournament of Reading is a challenge to read nine medieval books in three categories: history, medieval literature, and historical fiction. Most of these books that I plan to read come from my TBR list anyway:
History:
Byzantium by John Julius Norwich.
Justinianâ€™s Flea: The First Great Plague and The End of the Roman Empire by WIlliam Rosen.

Historical Fiction:
The King’s Daughter by Sandra Worth.
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner.
The Master of Verona by David Blixt.

As for actual medieval literature, I’ll have to ask Eldest Daughter to suggest something.

9. Poetry Project: I would like to continue having my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry Parties. Poetry Friday is the place and time to get an update on the Poetry Project. Plus, I’ll be celebrating Poetry Month again in April.

10. Prayer Project. I need to spend some daily concentrated time in prayer and meditation. My plan is to pray and read my Bible before I get on the computer each day so that I can bathe all these projects and all my children and my husband in prayer.

11. Book Club Project. I’m re-starting my book club this year. If any of you are interested in participating (virtually), email me at sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom, and I’ll send you the details. I’ll also be posting the book club selections for each month of 2010 here at Semicolon soon. I’m also leading a middle school girls book club at our homeschool co-op, and I’ll be posting the book list for that club before long.

12. Advanced Reading Survey Project. I decided last year that on Mondays I was going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.
Texas Tuesday Project. I also plan to keep posting about books set in or published in or related to Texas on Tuesdays. Or at least on most Tuesdays.

Bonus Project: I’ll keep blogging, the Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, and I’ll keep you all updated on all my projects for 201-.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in November, 2009

Nov29

After by Amy Efaw. (YA Cybils nominee) Semicolon review here.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. (YA Cybils nominee) Very sad teenager from a dysfunctional family ends up in LA looking for her dad along with two friends who have issues of their own. They’re lucky they don’t all end up working the streets or in juvenile detention.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Semicolon review here.

Make Way for Sam Houston by Jean Fritz. Semicolon review here.

Cybils Nominees Read:
The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman. Semicolon review here.

Gone From These Woods by Donna Bailey Seagraves. Semicolon review here.

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. Clements’ latest school story is about a tomboyish girl who becomes pen pals with an Afghan boy and his sister.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Semicolon review here.

Standing for Socks by Elissa Brent Weissman. Silly and implausible story about a girl who becomes famous for wearing mismatched socks. My girls do this all the time, and nobody notices.

Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy. Boy crazy Polish immigrant, Anya, falls for bad boy Daniel . . . in Liverpool, England. This one was unbelievable, too, especially the ending.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez. Semicolon review here.

A Recipe 4 Robbery by Marybeth Kelsey. Semicolon review here.

Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll by Mary Amato.

Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron.

Scat by Carl Hiaassen.

The Beast of Backslope by Tracy Barrett.

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes.

Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown. Semicolon review here.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko. Semicolon review here.

Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt. Semicolon review here.

Dani Noir by Nova Ben Suma. Semicolon review here.

Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari. Semicolon review here.

Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum. Semicolon review here.

William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Semicolon review here.

Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams. Semicolon review here.

I’m mostly reading middle grade fiction this month and in December, trying to get all the nominees read before Christmas so that we the judging panel can decide on five finalists. Wish me luck because I still have a big stack of books to read, and I’d like to review them all, too.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in October, 2009

Nov8

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. In this sequel to Russell’s The Sparrow, ex-priest Emilio Sandoz continues to work out his salvation in fear and trembling as the fate of two cultures hangs in the balance.

Gateway by Frederick Pohl. Not recommended. Although both of Mary Russell’s sci/fi books (see above) have explicit sexual content that may make some readers uncomfortable, I thought it was both tastefully written and integral to the plot and theme of the novels. I can’t say the same for Gateway. The sexual content in this book was annoying and gratuitous, and the ending was forced and trying too hard to be philosophical and psychological at the same time. I was already nine-tenths of the way through the book when I realized that I didn’t like the story or the characters, but by then I did want to know what happened. I wish I had skipped the whole thing. For what it’s worth this one is supposed to be a classic in the genre.

A Thread of Grace by Mary Dorie Russell. Not science fiction. Not as good as The Sparrow or Children of God. However, this novel set in Northern Italy during the last year of World War II does have its moments. Either I was distracted or the changes in place and point of view are confusing. I had trouble keeping straight the various story lines and characters and events. The book did give me a perspective on World War II and The Holocaust that I hadn’t known before: I learned that many Jews and other fugitives fled Southern France and other places as it began to look as if the Germans would lose the war. Many of these fugitives came to Italy because Southern Italy had already surrendered to the Allies. Unfortunately the Fascists and their German allies remained in power in Northern Italy for another year while the Allies made their way slowly and painfully up the Italian peninsula. The Italians formed partisan resistance groups, hid many of the Jews and other on the German blacklist, and endured the German occupation as best they could —hanging on to a thread of grace.

The Texan Scouts by Joseph Altsheler. Semicolon review here.

Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison. Semicolon review here.

Luke and the Van Zandt County War by Judith MacBain Alter. Semicolon review here.

West Oversea by Lars Walker.

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. Semicolon review here.

Cybils Reading:

Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal. Semicolon review here.

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. Semicolon review here.

The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. Semicolon review here.

The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts. Semicolon review here.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Semicolon review here.

Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder. Semicolon review here.

Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta. Semicolon review here.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane. Semicolon review here.

Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne. Semicolon review here.

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino. Bratty kid learns to say “thank you” but not much else. I didn’t care for this one much, but others may sympathize with the main character who is admittedly sort of a lost, neglected child in a dysfunctional family.

Sahwira: An African Friendship by Carolyn Marsden.

Carolina Harmony by Marilyn Taylor McDowell.

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle. Semicolon review here.

My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald. Semicolon review here.

The Kind of Friends We Used To Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell. Semicolon review here.

All the Broken Pieces by An E. Burg. Semicolon review here.

The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick.

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.

The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman. Semicolon review here.

The Problem With the Puddles by Kate Feiffer. Semicolon review here.

Dessert First by Hallie Durand. Semicolon review here.

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur. Betsy-Bee and I discuss Love, Aubrey.

Anna’s World by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin. Semicolon review here.

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. Semicolon review here.

Callie’s Rules by Naomi Zucker. Semicolon review here.

Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti.

Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells. Semicolon review here.

Sunday Salon: Take a Look at My Shelves

Oct11

It is my plan for the second Sunday of the month that Operation Clean House kicks into gear. I will post before and after pictures of one area of the house that Iâ€™ve managed to clean, and as a reward to myself and to you for looking, Iâ€™ll also post a picture of a favorite shelf of books in my house and highlight some of the Good Books on that shelf. SInce I have approximately 250 shelves of books in my house and more areas that need to be cleaned than that, this project should last my lifetime if I choose to continue it that long.

How about “the area to be cleaned” is the same area where the bookshelf is, the corner where I spend a lot of time: my computer corner. As you can see, it hasn’t been cleaned yet, but I’ll spend some time on it today and Monday.

This shelf of books is in my bedroom just to the right of my computer desk. Several of the books pictured are worth a mention.

William Zinser’s On Writing Well is a fine guide to the art of writing nonfiction articles in particular. I should get it out and go over the material in it with Karate Kid who needs to be writing more. I could use some tips on making my writing a bit more sparkle-y and interesting, too.

The Homeschool Journey by Susan and Michael Card makes homeschooling sound so so artistic and beautiful and homely.

There are a couple of very old books on this shelf:

The Mother’s Book is from 1921, edited by Caroline Benedict Burrell and WIlliam Byron Forbush. It’s a collection of essays and advice for mothers from the Jane Addams settlement house era. In fact, one of the articles in the book, “Companionship vs. Loyalty in the Gang”, is by Jane Addams. The advice in the book is sometimes good, but more often it seems rather quaint and even silly to twenty-first century readers. I really ought to excerpt some of the more amusing and telling passages for a beginning history of child-rearing advice in the U.S.
I also have an 1812 fifth edition copy of Noah Webster’s Elements of Useful Knowledge, Volume 1, Historical and Geographical Account of the United States for the Use of Schools. I’m wondering exactly how this little book was used in schools. It contains 529 sections, about a paragraph or half a page each on such topics as RIvers of New York, Settlement of Georgia, Introduction of Printing, Trade of Connecticut, etc. Did students read an assigned passage aloud or recite it back to the teacher or write about a section or what?

The large yellow book called A to Zoo is a discarded older edition of a reference book that lists picture books by subject. It’s useful for finding picture books on a certain subject to read to preschoolers, but it’s somewhat outdated. If you’re interested in having one of your own, you might be able to pick one up at a library discard sale. Or you can get a brand new 2005 edition for $67.00 at Amazon.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.

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