Notable Quotable: Mark Haddon (#64)

"And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery...and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything."
     -- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night -time

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (#27)

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.

Best Jokes:

The Weasley Twins have some pretty great practical jokes, but Harry and Ron are very good with sarcasm and little quips.  Peeves was always ready to play some practical jokes on the unsuspecting student.  I love all the humor that fills the pages of these books.  It's going to be hard to pick a single joke, or even a small group of jokes.

I love everything that went on up to and after the twins departed from Hogwarts.  Everyone pitches in to make Umbridge's life more complicated and as uncomfortable as possible.  So many practical jokes and the swamp that the staff just leaves around is great.

"Fred looked around at the assembled students, and at the silent, watchful crowd.  'If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley - Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes,' he said in a loud voice, 'Our new premises!'
'Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat,' added George, pointing at Professor Umbidge."

I especially thought the helpful hints from fellow staff was hysterical.

"A week after Fred and George's departure, Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves, who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier, and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth, 'It unscrews the other way.'" 

War Horse

by Michael Morpurgo

published: Scholastic, 2007
pages: 165

In 1914, Joey, a beautiful farm horse, is sold off to the army and thrust into the grueling war that tests not only the soldiers he accompanies but himself as well.  Leaving behind a farm boy whom he is determined to see again, Joey bravely marches forth spreading his courage to the soldiers.  Will he survive this devastating war and make it back to his true master or will he get caught up in the war like so many others before him?

This book was very endearing.  I like that it was told from the horse's point of view.  There are lots of stories that feature men gone to war, but we don't often see a book told from someone else's point of view.  Joey gave a unique perspective, offering insight to personal connections he made with soldiers and civilians from both sides.

There were moments when this book read a bit slow, but the pace picked up after a while.  It just seemed to be inconsistent.  There's a natural ebb and flow to the pace of any story and for the most part it was fine, there was just a moment or two when I felt pulled out of the story because it slowed way down.

This story is a story of hope in a moment of utter hopelessness.  World War I was a long war and so many people died fighting.  This book took all of that and laced in a story of loss, hope, survival, friendship and love between a boy and his horse.  One of the reasons this story is beautiful is because it is simply told.  Joey is not on a side of the war, he is just part of it.  Using that, we see the humanity in everyone and not just on winning side.  We see good German men and good British men, and we see bad German men and bad British men.

Michael Morpurgo took a common topic and made it genuinely unique.  I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm going to have to watch the movie now!

Stars: 4/5

Praise:

"...listeners get a unique and perceptive views of World War I.... And excellent choice for fans of historical fiction."
     --School Library Journal

"Joey's ability to understand the language wherever he is--England, France, Germany--reinforces the novel's antiwar message, and the terse details speak eloquently about peace."
     --Booklist

An Alphabet Soup Challenge Book

Top Ten Tuesday: I'd Love to Read with my Book Club

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I recently started a bookclub and we're reading our third book.  This is the perfect way to think about books for future months!

Some Memoirs
1. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - One dysfunctional family should make for an interesting memoir of redemption, love and loyalty.  This one could be a good discussion.

2. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - This isn't exactly a memoir but it is a true story that sounds incredibly interesting.  It would definitely spark a good discussion with the right group of people.

Some Graphics Novels
3. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - After the movie, I realized that I needed to read this book, but I never got around to it.  Maybe with a book club mandate this would help things.  Also, I'd love to hear what other people think of this book.

4. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan - Recently, I had several people tell me that this was the graphic novel to start and so I think it would be cool to have the book club start this new adventure together.

Some Young Adult
5. Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt - Schmidt has a unique writing style that tends shed light on heavy topics in a way that could lead to some really good discussion.  I'm interested in reading this one.

6. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - The concept of this book looks really good, and I'm interested in knowing what other people think about this book as well.

Some Fiction
7. Atonement by Ian McEwan - I've been dying to see this movie, but I won't do it until I read the book.  Maybe we could make this one a book/movie feature.

8. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - I think this book would bring some interesting discussion.  Plus, it's always more fun when you read a book with other people.  And I really want to read this book.

Some Classics
9. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - This book seems like it would be a great discussion book, plus my friend Leigh has been telling me to read this one for years.

10. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - This is one of those classics that seem to be waiting for a group of people to discuss it and I want my book club to be one of those groups.

Notable Quotable: Lewis Carroll (#63)

"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
     -- Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (#26)

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.

Best chill spot:

My first thought is by the lake.  On warm spring days or cool fall days this would probably be my go to spot.  It's a place where I could go and read, or do homework, or just hang out.  It feels a lot like where the Marauder's spent their time outside of class.

The other place I thought about was the room of requirement.  I mean that room could turn into any place I wanted/needed.  That would be amazing.  There has to be someplace to go when it becomes to cold to sit by the water.  It would likely turn into a library of sorts with ladders and secret rooms and enough room for everyone that wants to join me.  Yeah, there's already a library at Hogwarts but it has Madam Pince hush everyone.

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell
published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
pages: 433

Cath, like the rest of the world, is a fan of Simon Snow.  She always has been and always will be.  In fact, thousands of people think she is an incredible fan.  Cath and her twin sister, Wren, are going to college and Cath is bringing along the fanfiction she's been writing or two years in anticipation of the last Simon Snow novel.  Wren has decided not to room with Cath, leaving Cath with a surly roommate who has an omnipresent, overly cheery boyfriend and an intimidating world she's not sure she can handle by herself.  Cath is also really good at worrying.  Will she be able to juggle everything or will all her worrying cause her to lose sight of what's really going on and what's important?

I absolutely could not put this book down.  It was hysterical and beautiful and it made me want to start reading fanfiction again.  There's so many layers to this novel it's crazy.  It's a story about a girl who loves a story so she writes fanfaction about that story.  They talk about the fanfiction quite a bit in the story and at the beginning I was curious to know if we'd get to read any of Cath's stories.  And we did! It's great that we actually get to read some of the fanficiton that Cath wrote.

This book places us in a refreshing setting, college.  Most YA I read is set in high school and I don't mind it, but I loved reading about Cath's transition into college.  It can be a hard transition and Cath's college experience feels so real.  Her feelings about going into this big new and scary situation are on par with how I experienced the beginning of of school. She has introverted tendencies and when she builds up a wall about certain things, I completely understand.   I have so much empathy for Cath.   Despite her concerns and all the other stuff going on in her life he manages to make friends even if they don't understand why she writes fanfiction.

All of the characters in this book are incredibly relatable.  I've been in each character's shoes at some point in my college career and that makes me like them all, even when they are being unbelievably irritating and dumb.  One thing I find so entertaining about this book is that fact that Simon Snow feels so much like Harry Potter and Cath feels the same way about Simon Snow as I do about Harry Potter.  That's grounds for many relatable moments.

I was told that I would love Rainbow Rowell and I do, I love her writing and her characters and her stories and how she took an idea and brought it to life with words.  I cannot wait to read her other books!

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"A deliciously warm-hearted nerd power ballad destined for greatness."
     --New York Journal of Books

"A funny and tender coming-of-age story that's also the story of a writer finding her voice."
     --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Rowell manages to capture both the wildly popular universe of fanfic and the inside of an 18-year-old's head.  Consider me a fangirl of this charming coming-of-age tale."
     --Entertainment Weekly

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015: You heard about the book online
A Alphabet Soup Challenge 
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Book Challenge book.