A Reading Program? Sign Me Up!

Last Monday at my monthly UMW (United Methodist Women) meeting, we were chatting and laughing and getting down to business, when someone brought up this year’s reading program. Whoa, put on the brakes. Reading program? Sign me up! Anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about the reading (as my Books of 2011 page can attest to). They skimmed rather quickly over the program and I didn’t get a chance to look at the one copy of the handout that they had, so of course, I went home and looked it up on the internet! (You can check out the whole program here)

According to the website, the reading program “encourages members to think critically about current issues through an annual selection of member-reviewed books. It offers an excellent opportunity to deepen your spirituality and to broaden your understanding of our mission work.” Sounds good, right? There are four different plans. The most basic (which will be my first goal) is to read 4 books–one out of each of their designated categories–in a year. The books can be from this year’s list or from the past 4 years (so the lists for 2007-2011). I’ve picked out my books and even checked out my first one. Here’s the list of my first 4, a definitely achievable goal:

• Amish Grace (Category: Nurturing for Community)
• Not Just a One Night Stand (Category: Social Action)
• Three Cups of Tea (Category: Education for Mission)
• A Monk in the Inner City (Category: Spiritual Journey)

So, I’ll start there for now. Seems like fun and good reading. 🙂 Happy Friday!

Radiant Shadows

So, today I finished Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr, the third book in the Wicked Lovely series (YA fiction). I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and actually expected to be disappointed in the third because it dealt with entirely different characters. However, I was pleasantly surprised and this may have actually been one of my favorites in the series. The characters were dynamic and well-thought-out. I felt like you learned a lot about the characters, whereas in the first two you were really learning about all the characters the entire time. This book got you through a lot without being overwhelming and brought out a lot of previously minor characters. The budding romance between the two main characters of this book, Devlin and Ani, was well-done and true to the characters’ personalities. I still wish I could know more about what was going on with the main characters from the other books during this time, but overall, it was a very enjoyable read. Hopefully the fourth (and I believe final) book will fill in some gaps when it is released in February.

What I Have Learned Today About Viking Women

(1) They are tramps

(2) They are deadly

(3) You should never, EVER, slap one, no matter how much she deserves it.  You WILL end up dead.

(4) They are a LOT of fun to read about, even if you are still way, way behind on your deadline…

The Year Money Grew on Trees

So….part of the purpose of this blog is to give me an outlet for reviewing the books that I read, mostly for practice since it’s part of what I’m doing for class this semester. I’ve learned that I’m not very good at writing critically about fiction books because I’m much more accustomed to simply reading and enjoying and then moving on! If I want to be able to recommend books to kids/adults at work, I think it would be more beneficial to at least attempt to write brief reviews of things that I read for later reference.

The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins (2010)

Jackson Jones has no idea what he’s gotten into when he agrees to tend the Mrs. Nelson’s apple orchard, but anything has to be better than working at the scrap yard…right?  Quickly realizing the futility of endeavoring alone, Jackson recruits his sisters and cousins to help him after school and on Saturdays tending to the orchard. From February through September, the kids work diligently–pruning the branches, fertilizing the soil, watering (not an easy task in dry New Mexico), spraying pesticides, thinning the apples, and eventually picking. The kids make it through the entire process and even forgive Jackson when he finally reveals to them the terms of his contract with Mrs. Nelson–that she gets $8000 of the profits and Jackson gets the orchard if he can make at least that much.

I really enjoyed this book overall. There were very, very few moments when I wanted to skim over the prose to “get on to” the next part.  The main character, Jackson, is a fairly well-developed, dynamic character that the reader can easily sympathize with. Hamilton does a good job placing the story in time without ever actually coming out and saying when exactly it takes place. From pop culture references to “The A-Team” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” the observant reader can place the story in the 1980s. However, the story holds the same significance whether one catches onto these context clues or not. Each character has a distinct personality that adds to the story. The development of the rugged band of cousins and siblings into a team displays the value of teamwork and the role that each person plays.

I think that this is a book that middle grade boys would enjoy quite a bit. I wouldn’t discredit it as a book for girls, since there are prominent female characters, but it is not as “girly” of a story-line as many young girls might enjoy. The diagrams included by the author may seem tedious to some readers who aren’t as interested in the farming aspects of the story. I would recommend this book for age 10 and up.