"Something About Me" in Review

The "Something About Me" Challenge, hosted by Lisa of Breaking the Fourth Wall, was an absolutely fabulous experience. From conception to completion, Lisa did an amazing job - and I am looking forward to the encore later this year. By way of review:

The Books "About Me"

All of a Kind Family
Gift from the Sea
Just Ella
Stargirl
Winter Wheat

The Books I Read

Evening Class
Harvesting the Heart
The Historian
Oh My Goth
So Many Books, So Little Time
The Thirteenth Tale
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Uglies
The View from Saturday
There are so many other books involved in this challenge that I wish I'd had time for! I added many to my to-read list, and it'll be fun to return to the challenge blog and remind myself about the book lovers who chose them as being "something about me."

November in Review

I completed just five books in November (links are to my reviews):

• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  to finish up the R.I.P. Challenge


• Way Down Deep by Ruth White
  for the mother-daughter book club I attend with Sugar Plum


• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
  for Book Buddies


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  for the Yahoo Classic Lit group and the "Something About Me" Challenge


• Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult
  for the Reading the Author Challenge and the "Something About Me" Challenge

I was also working on Silvia Nasar's biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, as well as reading more of Don't Know Much About the Universe. Right at month-end, I started the children's sci-fi novel The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Needless to say, this pace is too slow to reach my on-going goal to read 104 books in one year. This month's pace was even slower than my pace for the year - as these books were the 67th through 71st I've read this year. I'm still striving for 80 books this year; do you think it's possible?

The progress I made in the many and varied challenges I'm participating in:

• I completed the R.I.P. challenge just a few days late, having read four novels.


• I added two more to the seven I'd already read for the "Something About Me" challenge. My original plan was a "five-plus-five" list, but I've picked up two more along the way. By the end of challenge, on December 31, I'm planning to read at least the remaining book on my "first tier" list, Marley & Me.


• I neglected to complete the Book to Movie challenge, which ended yesterday. Three books were required, and I finished the first one back in October but my second selection, A Beautiful Mind, is going more slowly than I had hoped. (It's very interesting, but it's not a fast read.) I needed to get the first book read back in September but didn't, so I've really been behind from the start - but I think I'll persevere with the challenge and maybe I can get partial credit for turning in a late assignment. This really was a great challenge idea - there are so many books that have made their way into movie form - and you can see links to the many reviews of the participants here. (By the way, I may change my third selection to Bridge to Terabithia, which I need to read for the Newbery Challenge anyway.)

The reading I want to accomplish in December:

• Read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf for the Yahoo Classic Lit group


• Read The Hours by Michael Cunningham for the Yahoo Book Awards group


• Read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons for Book Buddies


• Complete the Fall Into Reading Challenge by December 21 (four of six books remaining, although I'm part way through two of them)


• Read Marley & Me for the "Something About Me" Challenge by December 31, which will count for the Book Awards Reading Challenge as well


• Complete the Newbery Challenge by December 31 (four of six books remaining), which will also result in progress on the Book Awards Reading Challenge


• Complete the Reading the Author Challenge by December 31 (one of three books remaining)


• Complete the 2nds Challenge by December 31 (three of three books remaining)


• Read Christmas Jars by Jason Wright, which was sent to me for review

I just did the math: that's seventeen books in December! I guess I'd better get reading!

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

Published in 1993. 453 pages.


My enjoyment of Jodi Picoult's novels continues with Harvesting the Heart, which was her second novel and the ninth I've read. While I think it is apparent that this is one of her early novels, it still contained the elements for which I enjoy her writing: the switching of perspective between characters, and the use of symbolism.

This one explores a topic with which I have first-hand experience, that is, postpartum depression. But the storyline goes well beyond that, exploring the relationship between parent and child in many ways. Evocative and compelling, this was a great read for my Thanksgiving vacation. (Yes, I'm a little slow getting the review up.)

I read this novel for the Reading the Author challenge. As I started reading, it occurred to me that this was on one of the lists for the "Something About Me" challenge too - so I'm counting it "double."

2007.71

A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith

Originally published in 1943. 493 pages.
The edition I read has a foreword by Anna Quindlen.


I can't believe I hadn't read this book before now!

My slight aversion to "classics" may have something to do with that, but this past summer - after hearing another glowing recommendation - I thought that Sugar Plum and I would read the book together. She started it but didn't get into it, so I put it off some more. Because I had put A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in the "first tier" of my "Something About Me" reading list, I felt some obligation to follow through with it. When I discovered that it was the November pick for the Yahoo Classic Lit group, that was the incentive to finally get me into the book. I am so very glad I did!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - which is based on the life of the author - is the coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan, who lived in Brooklyn at the beginning of the twentieth century. As Quindlen says in the foreword: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is not the sort of book that can be reduced to its plot line. The best anyone can say is that it is a story about what it means to be human."

I'm not sure I've ever had such a sense of grief about having to say good-bye to a character in a book. As I neared the end, I just didn't want to finish, as I knew this would be the last I heard about Francie. (The only other book that has ever given me a feeling close to that was Anne Tyler's Saint Maybe.)

2007.70

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Published in 2005. 642 pages.


My friend Kellie recommended The Historian to me over a year ago, but I was somewhat intimidated by the length of the book and kept putting it off. I ended up putting it on both on my "second-tier" list for the "Something About Me" challenge and on my R.I.P. II Challenge list though, so I decided October was the time to read it! I got a good start on it during the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon - and I finished it last night.

Genre of the book: Horror. (Yes, that is not a typical genre for me! If it isn't for you either, don't let that keep you from giving it a read.)

How the book starts: The first pages are "A Note to the Reader" from an unnamed woman who is the narrator of the book. The note is dated January 15, 2008, and the narrator makes reference to "the thirty-six years since these event transpired" and to the idea that what she writes is "a cri de coeur" (which means, according to Merriam-Webster, "a passionate outcry [as of appeal or protest]").

A summary of the three layers of the book's plot: In 1972, the unnamed woman, then sixteen years old, travels in Europe with her father and learns much about his past. In the 1950s, the father, Paul, then a graduate student, searches in Europe for his mentor, who may or may not have been kidnapped. In the 1930s, the mentor, Professor Bartholomew Rossi travels in search of information about Vlad Ţepeş (also known as Dracula).

What I thought about the ending (without giving it away): The ending was actually somewhat anticlimatic for me, after so much action and revelations occuring thoughout the book.

What I think about vampires: I have not had an interest in reading about vampires in the past. Anne Rice, for instance, has never appealed to me - and I haven't read any of her books. Neither have I read Bram Stoker's Dracula. (I did read James Patterson's Violets are Blue, but that was because it is part of the Alex Cross series. The presence of vampires neither encouraged me nor discouraged me from reading the book.) I did read the first three books in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series this summer though - which changed the way I feel about vampires, at least the "vegetarian" ones of Meyer's tales. The Historian has given me more of the historical perspective on vampire lore, which I found intriguing.

Additional thoughts about this book: There has apparently been some comparison of The Historian with The Da Vinci Code, which was published two years earlier. Personally, I think there is no comparison! While I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, I found the writing of The Historian to be far superior, the research to be more solid, and its plot to be more compelling. Because Kostova wrote the book over a ten year period, she obviously didn't borrow her concept from The Da Vinci Code. I think that The Historian is an amazing book! Sony reportedly has the movie rights, and I think there are the makings of a great film in this book - if they don't ruin it in the process.

For more information: There is a fun interview with Kostova from 2005 here.


2007.67

A Status Report on Challenges

These are the challenges in which I'm currently participating, in order of completion date, with my current status:

• 2007 R.I.P. Autumn Reading Challenge, hosted by Carl.
  Links to reviews are posted here.
  Time remaining: Negative two days, and counting ...
  Current status: Completed two of three on original list; added an additional selection; about 100 pages (of 650ish) to go in The Historian.


• Book Buddies, hosted by Bonnie Jacobs.
  Discussion of monthly selection is posted on the group blog.
  For November: I picked up The Boy in the Striped Pajamas from the library, but I haven't started reading it yet. I'm supposed to have the first half read by the 8th.


• Book to Movie Challenge, hosted by Callista.
  Links to reviews are posted here.
  Time remaining: 29 days.
  Current status: Completed one of three required.


• Fall into Reading 2007, hosted by Katrina.
  Links to reviews are tracked at Callapiddar Days.
  Time remaining: About seven weeks.
  Current status: Completed two of six on my original list.


• Newbery Challenge, in memory of Nattie.
  Time remaining: Almost two months.
  Current status: Finished two of six required.


• "Something About Me" Challenge, hosted by Lisa.
  Time remaining: Almost two months.
  Current status: Finished five of original five-plus-five, with one additional selection completed; about 100 pages to go in The Historian. After that one, I'd at least like to read Marley & Me and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn before the end of the challenge.


• Reading the Author Challenge, hosted by verbivore.
  Time remaining: Almost two months.
  Current status: Finished one of the required minimum of three; checked out several others from library.


• 2nds Challenge, hosted by Joy.
  Links to reviews will be tracked on Joy's blog.
  Time remaining: Almost two months.
  Current status: Still haven't started any of the three required.


• The Unread Authors Challenge, hosted by Pour of Tor.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Time remaining: Four months.
  Current status: Finished two, but still constructing the list of at least six required.


• Book Awards Reading Challenge, hosted by 3M (Michelle).
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Time remaining: Eight months.
  Current status: Finished two of twelve required.


• "In Their Shoes" Reading Challenge, hosted by Vasilly.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Runs: January to December 2008.
  Current status: Posted "long list" of my picks.


• Cardathon Challenge, hosted by Becky.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Official starting date: January 1.
  Continuing for: "A year to whenever."
  Current status: Thinking about which of Card's books I'd like to read this year. Enchantment has been highly recommended. I'm also interested in Invasive Procedures.


• The Newbery Project, hosted by Alicia.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Ongoing.
  Current status: Still trying to figure out which ones of the eighty-six (to date) I've read recently enough to count as "already read".

I'm still thinking about the other challenges in which I'd like to participate in 2008. There are just so many fun, interesting possibilities! I've almost settled on my eight categories for the Triple 8 Challenge. Besides those fifty-six to sixty-four books, how many more do you think I can read in one year?

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Published in 2006. 406 pages.


I'd been reading good things about The Thirteenth Tale all over the blogosphere for a while, so it was already on my "someday" list when Kristin chose it for her "Something About Me" list. I, therefore, put it on my "second-tier" list of books to read for that challenge. Then, when I saw that Carl had suggested it for his R.I.P. II Challenge, cross-listing it seemed like a terrific idea - hopefully ensuring that I would get to it soon. I finished it today!

Setterfield is a terrific storyteller, and this is a very readable, engaging book. I read it much faster than I had expected. (It helped that I didn't have to work many long days this week.) Not really knowing anything about the plot, I hadn't anticipated the creepiness - at least not until I discovered that it fit the RIP Challenge - but it wasn't so creepy that I didn't like it. (I am a wimp about being scared and am wary of ghost stories.) Beyond the mysterious, dark atmosphere, it's a story about families and belonging, which I think we all can relate to - at least on some level - and, of course, it's also about books.

This is Setterfield's debut novel. There is a fabulous website about the book here.

2007.58

Trying to Keep It Straight in My Mind

My sister Carrie is the queen of spreadsheets! If there is anything that needs to be mentally sorted out and organized, she will create a spreadsheet for it. One that I benefit from is her ongoing record of our book club reads (date, host, book title), going back to the group's inception in June 2002. I've decided that I need a spreadsheet to help me keep track of all the current and upcoming book challenges in which I'm involved or interested - but because school is back in session, Carrie is extremely busy, so I guess I'm on my own to sort it all out. This is my attempt!

Most but not all of the challenges in which I'm currently participating are listed in my sidebar. Those challenges are as follows, in order of completion date:

• 2007 R.I.P. Autumn Reading Challenge, hosted by Carl.
  Links to reviews are posted here.
  Completion date: October 31.
  Current status: Reading first of three required.


• Book to Movie Challenge, hosted by Callista.
  Links to reviews are posted here.
  Completion date: December 1.
  Current status: Contemplating four for three required.


• Newbery Challenge, in memory of Nattie.
  Completion date: December 31.
  Current status: Finished two of six required.


• "Something About Me" Challenge, hosted by Lisa.
  Reviews are posted on the challenge blog.
  Completion date: December 31.
  Current status: Finished five of planned eleven, with many, many more possibles.


• Reading the Author Challenge, hosted by verbivore.
  Completion date: December 31.
  Current status: Contemplating three of the required minimum of three.


• 2nds Challenge, hosted by Joy.
  Links to reviews will be tracked on Joy's blog.
  Start date: October 1.
  Completion date: December 31.
  Current status: Contemplating the required three.


• The Unread Authors Challenge, hosted by Pour of Tor.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Completion date: February 29.
  Current status: Finished one, but still constructing the list of at least six required.


• Book Awards Reading Challenge, hosted by 3M (Michelle).
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Completion date: June 30.
  Current status: Finished two of twelve required.


• "In Their Shoes" Reading Challenge, hosted by Vasilly.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Runs: January to December 2008.
  Current status: Brainstorming.


• Cardathon Challenge, hosted by Becky.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Official starting date: January 1.
  Continuing for: "A year to whenever."
  Current status: Thinking about which of Card's books I've already read.


• The Newbery Project, hosted by Alicia.
  Reviews are posted to the challenge blog.
  Ongoing.
  Current status: Trying to figure out which ones of the eighty-six (to date) I've read recently enough to count as "already read".

While I'm personally still not used to the idea that it's 2007, there are a lot of book bloggers out there who are already planning their various and sundry challenge lists for 2008. Because I definitely want in on the fun, these are several challenges I'm considering joining, in alphabetical order:

• 1st in a Series, hosted by Joy.
  January to December 2008.
  Twelve books required.


• Back to History Challenge, hosted by Shannon.
  January to December 2008.
  Twelve books required.


• Celebrate the Author Challenge, hosted by Becky.
  January to December 2008.
  At least twelve books required.


• Every Month is a Holiday, hosted by Kim.
  January to December 2008.
  One book per month, for a total of twelve.


• Series Challenge, hosted by Kathrin.
  December 2007 to May 2008, with possible six-month extension.
  No set number of books.


• Themed Reading Challenge, hosted by Wendy.
  January to June 2008.
  At least four books required.


• Triple 8 Challenge (or 888), hosted by 3M (Michelle).
  January to December 2008.
  Eight books in eight different categories (with eight overlaps allowed), for a total of at least fifty-six books required.

So many books, so little time! I'm not kidding, am I?

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2005. 425 pages.


First Line: The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.

Why I Chose This Book: My daughter Jelly Bean had read this young adult novel and recommended it to me, so when I saw it on Faith's List in the "Something About Me" Challenge, I jumped at the chance to "have to" read it. More recently I put Scott Westerfeld on my preliminary list for the Unread Authors Challenge, so reading this book counts "double."

What I Thought of This Book: This was a great read! Compelling and quick-moving, I had fun with this tale of a dystopian society. At the same time, I appreciated so much its message about beauty and body image - a particularly good topic for teens to think about.

For More Information: Scott Westerfeld's website is here. I particularly enjoyed the transcript of an interview he did about Uglies (find it here).

What Is Next: Uglies is the first in a trilogy - and it ends with a cliff hanger - so I've definitely got to read books two and three, Pretties and Specials. Jelly Bean also tells me that her favorite of Westerfeld's books is the Midnighters trilogy - so I'm going to have to put those on my to-be-read list as well.

FYI: As soon as I have time, I'll be posting about Uglies on both the Something About Me Challenge blog (click here) and the Unread Authors Challenge blog (click here) too.

2007.55

Evening Class by Maeve Binchy

Published in 1996. 537 pages.


For some reason, this is the first Maeve Binchy book I've ever read. My mom has recommended some of her books to me in the past, and earlier this year, as we were discussing some of our favorite authors, several members of my book club praised her. Still, it took my friend Cynthia picking Evening Class for the September book club meeting to get me on the bandwagon. I didn't know what to expect - and I'm still not sure whether I can expect more of the same - but I found this novel to be a pleasure!

The characters of Evening Class remind me a bit of Anne Tyler's characters - interesting, even a bit eccentric, but definitely lovable - at least the "good" ones, as there are also some "villians" in the book. One of my favorite aspects of this novel comes from the fact that while it overall is the tale of the experiences of an Italian class as a group, it is divided into six or seven sections in which the story of one particular character is told - with insights into the other characters with whom he or she comes into contact over time, both before and after the class is formed - and then ending with the class taking a trip to Italy together. As I started the second section, it seemed to have no relationship at all with the first one, but when I saw the first tie between them, it was a delightful surprise. Throughout the book, I enjoyed so much how these various people's lives where interwoven. It could have seemed overly contrived, I guess, but it wasn't. Evening Class is storytelling at its best!

Some of the things that Binchy has her characters say also delighted me. Here are two examples:

Signora: "I'm not ever going to be interested in a man again."
Suzi: "Oh, I said that after the second-last fellow, but suddenly the interest came back."

Bill: "Do I look like an owl?"
Grania: "Of course not."
Bill: "It's not even as if I wore glasses. I suppose I have a round face and sort of straight hair."
Grania: "Owls don't have hair at all, they have feathers."
Bill: "Then what makes them think I'm like one?"

Finally, I enjoyed many of Binchy's decriptions of love and life. Again, two examples:

What part of the human mind or body was so inefficient that it could make you think you loved someone so wildly unsuitable?

She wasn't happy. Of course she wasn't happy. But then Connie thought that a lot of people lived like that, hoping that things would get better, and that lights would turn on, or the film turn into Technicolor. Maybe that's the way most people lived, and all this talk about happiness was for the birds.

What I'm wondering now - having seen a few random statements about Binchy's work on various sites as I searched for an image of the book cover - is which of her additional novels I should add to my to-be-read list. For one thing, I read a statement that Evening Class was her first novel set in contemporary times - and I suspect I might enjoy another time frame less. I also saw a reference to recurring characters from Evening Class in later novels; that possibility sounds fun to explore. If you've read Binchy, let me know what you'd recommend!

By the way, Evening Class was on raidergirl3's list for the "Something About Me" Challenge. I had not chosen it as one of my original "five plus five" - but I might as well post about it for the challenge too! (That post is here.)

2007.53

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

Subtitled A Year of Passionate Reading.
Published in 2003. 242 pages.

(This "Search Inside" image from the Amazon site
was the only decent image of the book that I could find.)
When I first heard that there was a book entitled So Many Books, So Little Time, I knew that it would only be a matter of time until I read it. (Especially since my blog has the same name!) Because both Vasilly and a.book.in.the.life picked So Many Books as "Something About Me", my participation in that challenge was the perfect excuse to read the book. I suspect that most book bloggers could say that this book title relates to them! I certainly can!

Vasilly said that author Sara Nelson "is one of my heroes." She appreciated what Nelson wrote about how books fit into her life and the joy that reading brings. a.book.in.the.life similarly liked this book because "I love books and reading, and I love books about books and reading." (Challenge participant Sally also read this book and reviewed it here.)

I also enjoyed this book, but I think I appreciated the concept - in which the author was going to read one book a week for a year and write about that experience - more than the actual implementation.

I read the book just a little at a time - it's easy to read in snippets - and I ended up with a number of possible additions to my own to-be-read list. I didn't ever feel personally engaged with Nelson, though, and a couple of times I found myself thinking that many of the book bloggers I know could have written this book at least as well, if not better. Still, it's a worthwhile read, especially for those of us who can relate to the idea of "passionate reading"!

2007.52

Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter

Published in 2006. 246 pages.


I read this young people's novel for the "Something About Me" Challenge, and you can read more about what I thought it on that blog.

By the way, tinylittlelibrarian also read Oh My Goth for the "Something About Me" Challenge. You can read her cross-posted review here.

2007.45

The View from Saturdayby E. L. Konigsburg

Published in 1996. 163 pages.
1997 Newbery Medal Winner.



A favorite memory of third grade is my teacher, Miss Burns, reading aloud E. L. Konigsburg's Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, which was a Newbery honor book in 1968. This was the same year that Konigsburg was awarded the Newbery Medal for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. She is the only author to have received both the medal and an honor book award in the same year.

For some reason, I hadn't gotten around to reading The View from Saturday until now - having chosen it for my Newbery Challenge, "Something About Me" Challenge, and Book Awards Reading Challenge lists. (It's a good thing that cross-listing is allowed!)

I thoroughly enjoyed this children's novel about a sixth-grade quiz bowl team and their teacher/coach. The value of friendship is the overarching theme of the novel, which also suggests the importance of each of us telling our own stories.

I had expected that there would be an "edgy-ness" to this book, like there is to Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone (2000), but there was not. That is not to say that the characters are not unique, from diverse backgrounds, or without "real life" situations (such as divorce, bullying, and physical handicaps), but I would have no reservations about recommending this book to anyone.

2007.44

This Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

The Books "About Me"
At first I had no clue what books I could pick that somehow represented me - but then I had a hard time keeping it to just five! These are the ones I settled upon:

• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  One of the few books I've read over and over, this classic non-fiction book was given to me by my mother after I had graduated from college and taken a job in another state. The issues Lindbergh explores are just as pertinent to women today as it was when it was first published in 1955.


• All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
  I am the oldest in a family of seven daughters and no sons, so I grew up in an "all of a kind family" like the one in this novel. I also think this children's book, read to my sisters and me by our mom, was the beginning of my interest in the Jewish culture.


• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
  I read this book a few years ago when it was required reading in my daughter's middle school English class. I immediately fell in love with this celebration of nonconformity. The girl called Stargirl is my hero!


• Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
  This young adult novel is a spin on the Cinderella story that takes place after Ella has been whisked off to the castle by the prince and she finds that both he and life as a princess is not all she had hoped. As a feminist, I believe that, like Ella, girls need to find out who they are as individuals before they become somebody's wife.


• Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker
  This classic novel is a recent discovery for me, and I decided to pick it partly because it's set in the Western United States - and I'm definitely a Western States girl. I also picked it because it is about a young woman growing up and figuring out who she is. (You can read my review of the book here.)

I guess there's a bit of a recurring theme here - but maybe that was the point!


The Books I'm Reading
So which of the books about other participants have I decided to read? That's been even more difficult to decide! Our host Lisa has said that she originally thought she'd choose one book from each participant's list - but she greatly underestimated the popularity of this unique reading challenge. (I count over sixty participants at this point.) I wish I could read one book from each list - but I've settled on five that I will definitely read by the end of the challenge (on December 31) and five more that I will hope I can get to. All the other great suggestions will have to go on the "someday" list. Here are my two sets of five:

• So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
  (from the lists of Vasilly, A Book in the Life, and Sally) With the same title as the name of my blog, how can I pass this one up?


• Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter
  (from Stephanie's list)


• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
  (from Sarah Miller's list)


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  (from Becky's list)


• Marley & Me by John Grogan
  (from Lynne's list)

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
  (from Kristin's list)


• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  (from Juli's list)


• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  (from Faith's list)


• Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
  (from Raidergirl3's list)


• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
  (from the lists of A Book in the Life, Maryanne, and Heidijane)

Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker

Originally published in 1944. 306 pages.


Winter Wheat was the April pick for one of my book clubs. I was not familiar with the book or the author, and because of my mild aversion to "classics", when I discovered that the book had been published in 1944, I was a little apprehensive about it. I always try to read book club picks, though - after all, what's the point of belonging to a book club if it doesn't broaden your horizons a little?! - so I started it about a week before the group meeting.

I ended up helping Sugar Bear with his school project on giraffes that night and it took me longer to read the book than I would have liked - I just finished it this week, mostly because I have been so busy at work and too tired to read more than a few pages before falling asleep at night - but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

The metaphor of "winter wheat" itself is one worth contemplating, but, for me at least, the impact of the book goes far beyond that.

In the introduction, James Welch said, "Mildred Walker's success is in creating a keen psychological portrait of her main character. We see through Ellen Webb's eyes." While I'm certainly not a ranch girl, I related to Ellen Webb's experiences in discovering who she is and what matters to her. As Welch wrote, this novel is "a story about growing up, becoming a woman, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, within the space of a year and a half. But what a year and a half it is!"

I also loved that this is a book about the American West. Set in Montana, where Walker lived for much of her life, it explained to me something I'd never understood - that is, why Montana is called the "Big Sky State". I grew up not far from Montana (in Idaho) and for all but a short period of my life have lived in the West. I'm definitely a Western States girl!

By the way, I think this one might make it on my Something About Me Challenge list. I'll be using it for one of my "wild card" spots on my Spring Reading Thing list too.

2007.26