Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan

So I realize some of you might feel that reading a book for sixth graders is below you but I'm in a funk and didn't want to read anything at all so I figured some reading is better then none. I picked this little beauty up down by the kiddos picture books. It follows the immigration of Esperanza the daughter of a wealthy land owner in Mexico who after her father's death is forced to move to California and start a life as a field hand.

On the Four Star Scale

Naughty Bits () - Please this baby is for children and to be honest it was nice to not have to cringe over someones false attempts at romance. Oh my, why am I so bitter right now.

Readability (****) - 288 pages with big print. I finished it in a hour and half while the kids were playing at the playroom.

Final notes (****) - I really enjoyed this story. I said to Dr J, "You know how everyone has read Grapes of Wrath?" And he said, "I never read it." And then I said, "What? Is that some kind of joke?" Anyway my point is this story gives you an idea of what was going on in California in the farm fields before and when all the dust bowl refugees started showing up. It also is a wonderful reverse fairy tale. Usually in a fairy tale you watch the pauper become the princess. Here you watch the princess become the pauper. The happy ending is that she realizes that material things are not final and all you can really hold onto is family and friends. Esperanza also becomes more humane in poverty. The story is sweet and it gives you a little history on California field hands during the Depression. My personally favorite part of the book is the final three pages where the author talks about her family, her grandmother who was the inspiration for the story, and the history of Mexican labor and strikes during that time period. Really fascinating. To be honest it makes me want to check out a book on farm labor. So I guess for my book funk that is a good sign.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Book Sabbatical

I'm taking a little sabbatical from reading this month. I don't know what my problem is. I've started probably seven different books that have all been interesting but I just can't make myself finish them...hopefully I can pull myself together soon.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Once Upon A Country - Sari Nusseibeh

My current read. 560 pages and couped up kids...we'll see how long it takes me to read.

Playing for Pizza - John Grisham

Rick Dockery is a third string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. With 11 minutes left in the Championship game Dockery finds himself in the game. In those 11 minutes he manages to blow a seventeen point lead and get knocked out until the next day. Dockery wakes up in the hospital to find he has lost his job, is a hated man, and no other NFL teams are interested in picking up his contract. On a suggestion from his agent he goes to Parma, Italy to play in a very small American Football League for $20,000 and a car and apartment.

On the Four Star Scale

Naughty Bits (**) - Dockery hooks up with a cheerleader type.

Readability (****) - 272 pages. Small book.

Final notes (*) - I have now read 19 books by John Grisham...why, why, why. I think that it is time to stop. If you want to read a book about football read The Blindside. If you want to read a John Grisham book read The Client. I used to just have a problem with the way Grisham ended his stories. It seemed like he struggled to tie up all the end bits. His shoddy story lines have spread now.