The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

why: I got a strong recommendation from a teacher colleague for this one last summer and I'm finally getting around to it.

when: start 5/30/2013, end 1/5/2014

how: as an ebook on my ipad

thoughts: This is a tome, but it was well worth my time. I started reading it months ago--but I wasn't able to give it the brain space needed by reading it in the 20 sleepy minutes I had before falling asleep on many nights. I put it down after getting about a third into it. I wrote about that here. So once winter break started, I picked it back up again and started at page one. Wow. Loved this book. Chabon makes you work for it. The writing is gorgeous. The characters are wonderfully complex. The heartbreak is real. This is yet another book connected to the holocaust and that has a carney element. Not sure why I keep getting drawn by these kinds of books. But wow. This definitely explores what the devastation of the holocaust can mean to an individual who escapes. This explores the golden age of comic books in America. This explores love and devotion and magic. I definitely recommend it, but be ready to work. Chabon will not coddle you. You've got to pay attention.

Click on the book image to go to the wikipedia entry for this book.

review haiku:
heartbreak and heartbreak
how many ways to escape?
read this book to see

The Giver by Lois Lowry

why: Every time someone mentions this book, I wonder why I haven't read it yet.

when: December 2013 (I've been ignoring updating this blog, so I don't have the exact dates--but it only took me three days maybe.)

how: as an ebook on my iPad

thoughts: Great book. I can see why it is so loved by so many. I bought it for my kid for Christmas--her first dystopian novel. She hasn't read it yet. She would have if it were in graphic novel format...

Click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry for the book.

review haiku:
our world but messed up
dystopias freak me out
a few steps away

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

why: recommendations from our librarian and from students

when: start 4/1/13 finish 5/4/13

how: as an ebook on my iPad (from the local bookseller of course!)

Click on the book image to see the Wikipedia entry for the book.

thoughts: I loved this book. The moment I finished it I immediately went back to page one and started reading again! (Didn't read the whole thing again, just the first few chapters). There's a bit of mystery to it, and there are several different characters on seemingly different paths who eventually come together (I always love that). And yes, it is essentially about love and what it means in our lives. Loved it.

review haiku:
The history of us
history of all of us is
The history of love

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

why: recommendations from colleague and student

when: start 4/1/13 end 4/9/13

how: as an ebook on my ipad (purchased through the Boulder Bookstore of course--must support the local independent bookseller!)

thoughts: This is another post-apocalyptic story akin to The Road, but set in Erie, Colorado. The main character lives at the Erie airport, flies a plane to patrol the area looking for intruders, and shares the airport with another survivor of the flu that took almost everyone. It was fun to be able to visualize all the places mentioned in the book since most of it takes place in Boulder County. In the center of the text is not a father/child relationship like in The Road, but a man and his dog and also a friendship with the other man who is also living at the Erie airport. Hence, the story is a bit less painful and heartbreaking than The Road (though The Dog Stars definitely has its moments), and I was pleased in the end that the final image of the characters is a hopeful one. There is hope for this world.

Click on the image to get to some information about the book on NPR.

review haiku:
most dead by the flu
the few who remain build a
new reality

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Why: book club

When: start 3/10/13 end 3/28/13

How: as an ebook on my iPad

Thoughts: Okay I kind of loved this book. The voice is just awesome. And Oscar--unique character. Loved his geekiness. Loved his passion. Loved his single-minded dedication to his vision of happiness, despite all obstacles. Loved the window into a cultural world I'm not familiar with.

Click on the book image to read the wikipedia entry for the book.

Review Haiku:
Thank you Oscar Wao
for being simply just you
despite the fuku

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Why: a couple of weeks ago at a meeting with some colleagues, two of them raved about an author I had never even heard of. Smith has also a newer novel just out in 2012, but I figured I'd start here with this one that has been very critically acclaimed.

When: Start 2/2/13 End 4/1/13

How: as an ebook on my iPad

Thoughts: Awesome line from chapter 1: "Clara Bowden, aged seventeen, was gangly, bucktoothed, a Jehovah's Witness, and saw in Ryan a kindred spirit. A typical teenage female panopticon, she knew everything there was to know about Ryan Topps long before they ever spoke." I've never seen "panopticon" used in quite this way, and I love it.

This book took me a while, but finally I conquered it. Loved it too. It's complex--lots and lots to unpack, but it definitely taught me some things about British contemporary culture and the struggle of immigrants there. The teeth motif was fun to puzzle out for sure.

review haiku:
people do differ
but we all have teeth, white teeth
with roots. What are yours?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Why: my 3rd hour class chose for us to all read this together to start off second semester.

When: Start 1/11/13; End 2/4/13

Thoughts: This book is beautiful and painful and terrifying. Truly terrifying. The world of this book and me being lost in it with my child to protect is literally my nightmare.

How: I'm reading the copy I bought when I first taught this book a few years ago. It looks just like this image here, though my students' books have a still photo from the recent movie on the cover. I actually hate it when books do that. Then you're stuck with the movie maker's image of the characters in your head.

(click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry for the book)

review haiku:

we all have a road
the trick is to stay true and
carry the fire

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Why: my 5th hour students chose for us to read this all together.

When: Start 1/11/13; End 2/4/13

Thoughts: I have to admit that I was surprised my students voted to read this out of the other choices. I love this book. So beautiful.

How: I'm reading the copy I've had since I taught AP English in Illinois, so it's full of my marginalia. The book mark/chapter summary card is a post card from the Grand Mesa. On the back is a sticker that says "I support smoke-free restaurants" (there was a campaign in the direction about 12 years ago in Urbana, Illinois).

(click on the book image to get to the wikipedia entry for The Great Gatsby)

review haiku:

the green light shining
stands in for all of us who
want what we can't have

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Why: book club

When: Start 1/20/13; End 2/2/13

Thoughts: This was beautifully written--loved how the Native American legends wove into the story. The main character as an adolescent makes for an intriguing lens on this book and the issues it takes on. I had no idea about the laws on reservations (imposed from the outside) and that they make it difficult to prosecute rape cases. That's where this story starts. The main character's (Joe's) mother is brutally raped and attacked by an outsider, his father is a judge, and questions about justice and revenge and what is permitted under the law swirl around the story.

How: as an ebook on my ipad

(click on the book image to read about the author)


review haiku

There's a line between
Revenge and justice and the law
But it's a fine line