A Ray Bradbury Limerick

I was one of the prize donors for Dewey’s recent Read-a-Thon. I offered 2 Bookmooch points–one for the winner, and one to be given to the Bookmooch charity of the winner’s choosing.

The winner was Debi with a limerick about Ray Bradbury’s Halloween Tree:

Tom Skelton and friends took quite a trip,
Through space and time, they did fly and flip,
Learning much about night,
And things that cause fright,
And in the end, they saved their friend Pip.

Since Debi is not a Bookmoocher, she graciously asked me to give both points away, and even let me pick the charity! I chose Not Forgotten Ministries from among the Children & Mothers charities.

Congratulations to all who read up a storm!

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Go, Readers, Go!

The 24-hour read-a-thon is up and running, and I’m sending out good reading vibes to all the participants:

  • 1 More Chapter
  • A Patchwork of Books
  • A Striped Armchair
  • Aquatique
  • Bebo Author
  • Becky's Books
  • Book Glutton
  • Bookgirl's Nightstand
  • Dog's Eye View
  • Ed's Thread
  • Eliza Tucker
  • Errant Dreams
  • Jason Erik Lundberg
  • Joystory
  • Just Another Musing
  • Keeper of the Snails
  • Life
  • Naked Without Books
  • Nothing of Importance
  • OCD Man
  • Pages Turned
  • S.M.S. Book Reviews
  • So Many Books
  • So Many Books, So Little Time
  • Teen Book Review
  • The Armenian Odar Reads
  • the deblog
  • The Smug Cloud
  • There's Something About Translation
  • Have fun, everybody!

    Posted in On Reading | Tagged | 8 Replies

    Sign Up for the Read-a-Thon

    SATURDAY OCTOBER 20TH, starting at 2pm GMT, hosted by Hidden Side of a Leaf.

    Here are the different ways to get involved:
    Sign up to spend 24 hours reading and blogging.
    Sign up as an official cheerleader and host a mini challenge for participants on your blog.
    Promote the Read-a-Thon on your blog.
    Save the date and follow along with all the readers.

    You can find all the details here. I will definitely be following along and commenting on the entrants’ blogs.

    Posted in On Reading | Tagged | 2 Replies

    Summer Reading Challenge

    Regular commenters might have picked up on a little bit of news from Superfast Family, which is that I am expecting our first child in November. I’ve actually been reading a ton of books on pregnancy & childbirth but haven’t blogged about them because I’m reading them continuously throughout my pregnancy.

    Anyway, I thought I’d use the Summer Reading Challenge as a way to motivate myself to reach one of my pre-baby goals:

    I’m gonna read War and Peace.
    By August 31st.
    Hopefully sooner.

    I’ll be interspersing my read with other, shorter books, so don’t worry–you will still get regular book reviews prior to The Big One.

    Wish me luck!

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    Challenge Your Assumptions

    New commenter John clued me in to a really cool-sounding challenge: New Notions Five. Here’s what it’s all about: Continue reading

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    What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney

    Synopsis:
    A young woman still dealing with the knowledge that she was kidnapped as a child discovers an upsetting truth about the woman who stole her.

    Review:
    What Janie Found is the fourth book in a series about Janie Johnson, which began with YA classic The Face on the Milk Carton. Imagine while eating your cafeteria lunch you see your own face on the side of a milk carton as a missing child–that’s Janie’s story. It’s a powerful book (and was made into a fabulous TV movie with Kelli Martin). In it, and in the follow-up books, Whatever Happened to Janie? and The Voice on the Radio, Cooney explores all the tensions that would naturally emerge in such a situation, with Janie now caught between two families. Continue reading

    Posted in American Literature | Tagged , , , , | 1 Reply

    The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

    Synopsis:
    New step-sister Amanda wants to teach David and his younger siblings all about practicing magic, but when they learn that their house was once haunted by a poltergeist, no one can tell what’s made up and what’s real.

    Review:
    The Headless Cupid is the second of the three YA books I’m reading for the Banned Books Challenge. I was only familiar with Snyder’s The Egypt Game, which I remember as being cryptically creepy, the perfect read for a curious fourth-grader like myself. Continue reading

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    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

    Synopsis:
    By refusing to sell chocolates in the annual school sale, one high school freshman learns whether or not his universe can bear to be shaken.

    Review:
    The Chocolate War is the first of my books for the Banned Books Challenge, hosted by The Pelham Library. I have read Cormier’s books a number of times since first encountering them in middle school, and I’m still amazed at the power that they have to shock, wound, and enlighten. Continue reading

    Posted in American Literature | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Replies

    Banned Book Challenge

    I just signed up to read 3 books that have been banned at some point before June 30, 2007. Visit the Pelham Library site if you’d like to sign up for the Banned Books Challenge yourself.

    I’ll be reading:
    What Janie Found by Caroline B, Cooney–FINISHED
    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier–FINISHED
    The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder–FINISHED

    I am always shocked at what books get banned… who are these people, anyway?

    Posted in On Reading | Tagged | 3 Replies

    Spring Reading Thing

    I found a fun challenge over at Callapidder Days–just make a list of the books you want to read this spring. So, at some point between today and June 21st, the first day of summer, I’ll be reading:

    1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    2. Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
    3. Blindness by Henry Green

    Tomorrow is my last day at my job, which means no more morning/evening commute, which is when I do most of my reading. But never fear, Superfast Reader will find a way!

    Posted in On Reading | Tagged | 11 Replies