I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Published in 1948. 343 pages.


First sentence: I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.

Last sentence: I love you, I love you, I love you.

Description from the back cover: I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle" - and the heart of the reader - in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

What I thought: This was June's pick for the "book lunch girls." I didn't have it finished by the time we met for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, but I finished it last week. I really liked the first part of this coming-of-age novel, written by the same woman who wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians. I liked the last part of the book as well. (I quoted a bit of the ending over on my "regular" blog.) I got bogged down in the middle, though, getting a somewhat frantic, even slapstick feeling when I'd try to read a bit before falling asleep at night. I will admit that my work situation, which was somewhat frantic with long, long days, may have contributed to that, and if I'd had the time and energy to read more of the book at a sitting, I may have enjoyed it more. Overall, I did like it, especially the eccentric characters.

Other information: In 2004 Melissa (Book Nut) listed I Capture the Castle as one of her ten most favorite fiction books. Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic gave it a 5/5. There is a 2003 movie version of the book.

2010.31

By the NumbersMidway 2010

Total books read year-to-date: 34. (This is well below the pace required to meet my goal of 104 books for the year. It's below my pace for the past few years, as well. But since I finished a five-year work commitment on June 30, I have high hopes for the second half of 2010 ... and beyond!)

Fiction: 32.
Non-fiction: 2. (Both were biography-memoir.)

Historical fiction: 9.

Published in 2010: 5.
Published prior to 1990: 5.

Young adult: 16.
Juvenile: 6.

Read with the fifth grade book group: 7.
Read with the "book lunch girls": 5.
Read with my book club: 4.
Read with the Book Buddies: 2.

5-star rating: 3.
(Those were Slob, A Northern Light, and Harriet the Spy.)
4-star rating: 17.
3-star rating: 12.
2-star rating: 2.

What are your reading numbers for 2010 so far?

I Can't Keep My Own Secrets:Six-Word Memoirsby Teens Famous and Obscure

Edited by SMITH Magazine.
Published in 2009. 184 pages.


From the preface: This is a book with over 600 authors (all aged thirteen to nineteen) and 600 characters (all real, as far as we know) and 600 stories (which can be read in any order). What every story has in common is that each was written about the author's own life, and that each is the exact same length: six words.

Why I read this book: This was one of the 2009 Cybils nominees in Non-Fiction. I saw it at my local library one afternoon, so I decided to read it while I was waiting for my son. Then I recommended it to my teenage daughter. Today I read it again.

Some of my favorite memoirs, silly as well as profound:

I live bigger than your labels.
- Samantha N.

Finally learned "weird" is a compliment.
- Teagan E.

Because the chicken was a nonconformist.
- Dillon W.

The exits were entrances in disguise.
- Shannon B.

I always spell my name backwards.
- Hannah F.
2010.34

Library Loot - July 1

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg
to encourage bloggers to share what they’ve checked out from the library.



On my first day of official unemployment,
I took the kids to the library.
We picked up some prizes for the summer reading program, I paid off all the fines we've been accruing, and I checked out two books for my reading enjoyment:

Laurie Halse Anderson's Prom

The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch
(one of the current Reader's Choice picks)

City of Thieves by David Benioff

Published in 2008.
Audiobook read by Ron Perlman.


I enjoyed this unique story set in Russia during the infamous siege of Leningrad - providing me with another view of World War II, about which I've been reading quite a bit this year.

Author David Benioff gives us two incredible characters in Lev and Kolya, young men who meet for the first time in a jail cell, imprisoned on dubious charges. Given a reprieve from their impending executions if they can locate a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's wedding cake, they head out on an incredible adventure.

I laughed. I cried. I don't think I'll ever forget Kolya and Lev.

The novel contains some crude and uncomfortable language and situations, but given that it is the story of two young men in war time, I didn't find it gratuitous or offensive.

City of Thieves was a Salt Lake County Reader's Choice pick for July through October 2009, with a blog post here. The book's webpage is here. Britt (Confessions of a Book Habitué) reviewed it here.

2010.30

What Am I Reading Right Now?

Right now I'm working on I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, which was the June "book lunch girls" pick. We met at The Cheesecake Factory earlier this month to discuss the book - but I was less than a quarter into it at that point. I'm determined to get it finished soon.

I'm also working on Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, which is the current read over at Book Buddies. I seem to be reading a lot of historical fiction set during or around World War II, including Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, City of Thieves, and Skeletons at the Feast. It's been very interesting to view the war from a lot of different perspectives.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin is another book I'm reading right now, as I work on a "happiness project" of my own. (I'm blogging about that project here.)

Beginning July 1, I hope to be reading more and blogging more about what I'm reading. I finish up a five-year work commitment on June 30, and I'm looking forward to spending some time renewing my spirit as I figure out what comes next.

In Search of Mockingbirdby Loretta Ellsworth

Originally published in 2007.
Audiobook narrated by Jessica Almasy.


Set in 1986, In Search of Mockingbird is a short, sweet young adult novel about a young girl's attempt to visit Harper Lee, author of her favorite novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Her bus ride to Monroeville, Alabama, becomes a journey to find herself.

It wasn't until after I listened to this book that I discovered that 2010 is the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird. I plan to re-read the beloved classic later this year, but in the meantime, In Search of Mockingbird was a fitting tribute.

2010.28

Calamity Jackby Shannon and Dean Hale

Illustrated by Nathan Hale.
Published in 2010. 144 pages.


I didn't like this sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge as much as I liked the original, but it is a fun interpretation of "Jack and the Beanstalk."

By the way, I enjoyed meeting Shannon Hale (for the second time) at the Utah Book Bloggers Winter Social in February.


2010.22