Sunday, February 01, 2009

The Sunday Salon: Reading, Read, To Read #5

Happy February! Can you believe it? A month gone from the new year already. You can catch up on what I've read in January. Earlier in the week....Natasha of Maw Books fame interviewed me for her Reader Spotlights feature. On Monday, all the biggies were announced by ALA. I'd imagine you've heard by now the news--most would say good news--that Gaiman won the Newbery with his Graveyard Book. I'd encourage you to pick up the Printz winner, Jellicoe Road, as well. I just love that book, I do. That being said, the Cybils announcement is about two weeks away. I'm anxiously awaiting the results of all the final-round judging going on.

What I read in a previous week, but reviewed this week:

Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before. David Yoo. 2008. 374 pages. Hyperion. (YA Romance/YA Realistic Fiction)

What I read this past week and reviewed:

Infernal Devices by Philp Reeve. 2005. 358 pages. HarperCollin (YA Science Fiction/Dystopia/YA Adventure)
Gingham Mountain by Mary Connealy. 285 pages. Barbour (Adult/Christian/Romance/Historical)
Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone: The Odyssey of Flight 33 by Mark Kneece. 72 pages. Walker. (YA Science Fiction/Graphic Novel)
Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street. by Mark Kneece. 72 pages. Walker. (YA Science Fiction/Graphic Novel)

What I read this past week and haven't reviewed yet:

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. Patterson, James. 2008. Little, Brown. 238 pages (YA Science Fiction/YA Adventure)
A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve. 2006. HarperCollins. 559 pages. (YA Science Fiction/YA Adventure/Dystopia)
Winnie's War by Jenny Moss. 2009. Walker Books. 178 pages. (J Historical Fiction/YA Historical Fiction)
The Desires of Her Heart by Lyn Cote. 2009. Avon Inspire. 299 pages. (Adult/Historical/Romance/Christian-ish)

What I'm currently reading:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dune by Frank Herbert

I'm making some progress on my challenges. The challenges that I *need* to focus on in February are....the 1% challenge and the Sci-Fi Experience. I am just loving the Sci-Fi one. It's just so fun to escape into a good book. The Hungry City Chronicles have been SO MUCH fun. I wish everyone loved science fiction as much as I did. Then again, differences can be good. And I can find myself compatible with almost anyone :) Back to the 1% I need two books to finish up that one. I'm reading Don Quixote...but I'm unsure if I can finish by the deadline of February 28th. I'm thinking of reading a DeFoe for the second book....which do YOU think I should read?

Moll Flanders?
Roxana?
Robinson Crusoe?


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

7 comments:

Debi said...

I was so bummed...we were at B&N Friday night. I wanted to pick up Jellicoe Road, but they didn't have it! Can you believe that?!! Oh well, I'll just have to order it.
I wish I were as close to finishing the 1% Challenge as you. I've still got 8 to go. Yeah, I'm not going to make it.

samantha.1020 said...

Congrats on being interviewed. I'll have to go and check that post out :) It looks like you had another great week of reading. I can't believe February is here already either!

R.J. Anderson said...

ROBINSON CRUSOE has the most unapologetically straightforward Christian conversion scene I've ever read in a novel not written for the CBA. I was ever so surprised, as no one had led me to expect this!

Anonymous said...

I haven't read any Defoe so I've no advice to give - I'm writing this comment merely to say I'll be curious to see which you choose and then to read your review of it. (I wonder what "Roxana" is about?)

Also - are you feeling better? L.

Becky said...

R.J. Anderson, It's very interesting to me...as I know Moll Flanders and Roxana are both about fallen women or prostitutes...it just seems funny that the man who wrote a book that Christian believers of the day--Puritans and the like--really clung to and loved also wrote the others.

Roxana, according to Amazon, my good friend, Anonymous L. is..."Beautiful, proud Roxana is terrified of being poor. When her foolish husband leaves her penniless with five children, she must choose between being a virtuous beggar or a rich whore. Embarking on a career as a courtesan and kept woman, the glamour of her new existence soon becomes too enticing and Roxana passes from man to man in order to maintain her lavish society parties, luxurious clothes and amassed wealth. But this life comes at a cost, and she is fatally torn between the sinful prosperity she has become used to and the respectability she craves. A vivid satire on a dissolute society, "Roxana" (1724) is a devastating and psychologically acute evocation of the ways in which vanity and ambition can corrupt the human soul.

As to my health...there's good news and bad news...my cold is better. I can breathe through my nose again! Hurray! (Funny how you take breathing for granted.) The slightly bad news is that I slammed/jammed my left hand in between my chair and my desk. All four fingers. One finger did take the brunt. Let's just say I can't repeat what I said during these few minutes. :) After icing it down, I think it will be okay. But one finger does look like it might bruise.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Becky! Well - maybe "Crusoe" then? :)

Ouch! Your poor hand! Take care!

And yes, it's funny how you appreciate being able to breathe through your nose when you haven't been able to! (I've had a horrid cold recently, so I understand.) L.

Anonymous said...

Becky (yes, it's me again :) ), I just read your interview - it was great! I just had to say that.

(And as the Pirates-fanatic I am, I'll also add that the third film makes much more sense the second time around - assuming that was your trouble with it. :) )L.