Finished FALL OF GIANTS and TUCK EVERLASTING

   I loved Fall of Giants, by Ken Follett.  I learned a lot about the war and enjoyed the interactions between the fictional characters and the war, itself.  TR and I are now watching The World Wars on the History channel (recorded over the last three days) and are finding it fascinating.



   Though I still find Tuck Everlasting silly and depressing, I have found some saving graces that will help make it teachable.  The language is beautiful, intricate, and descriptive.  And, I think it could help children come to grips with the circle of life, especially when a beloved aged and ailing pet is lost or even an elderly grandparent.  I don't think it would do any good at all with helping deal with the death of another child or a parent.







The second book that Gabriel is to read this summer is The White Mountains, the first of the Tripods series of books by John Christopher.  So, we go from fantasy to science fiction and finish with another fantasy (The Hobbit--in abridged form) for a 5th grader!  Odd, I think, because there is little variety of genre, because The Hobbit in it's unabridged form is an eighth grade book, and because this is a prestigious Catholic school and one would think the concentration on, not only fiction, but fantasy, would be a bit irregular.  But, even worse, her eighth grader, also in a prestigious Catholic school, has In Cold Blood on his summer reading list!  Now this is a book that a Catholic school (or any responsible school, one would think) would want to help guide students through, not leave them to flail alone with during the summer!  I told Skippy to read the book with her son and help guide him...he will need it.

As for The White Mountains, I have just started.  I am enjoying the Preface in which Christopher is explaining why he took on this project and what he learned from doing it.  He pretty much repeats what another author of both children's and adults' sci-fi said to me at a reading teacher's convention many years back, "Children's books are much better edited than adult books."  John Christopher notes that children's book editors are much better and more thorough than editors of adult books.

Started TUCK EVERLASTING

I am on p 348 in Fall of Giants.  Though I am not usually taken with war stories, I am fascinated by what happens to the civilians in war and how they are effected.  But, in this case, I also find myself fascinated by the military and governmental thinking behind it.  I had never actually known much about this war, except that it was started by the assassination of an Austrian prince by a Serbian.  I never could figure how this small localized conflict could have escalated into a World War.  But now I see that an overzealous monarch in Austria, wanting revenge instead of justice, made impossible demands on Serbia and the very alliances in Europe which were supposed to be a deterrent to war embroiled the entire continent in it.

I am also reading Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt.  I have read this before and HATED it.  A friend at swimming put into words exactly how I feel about it--"It is silly and depressing."  However, another friend's child is required to read it over the summer and I have agreed to help him comprehend it, and help develop his comprehension skills in general at the same time.  I am on p 22 and am surprised at how beautifully it is written.  It is also quite easy to devise questions for, as well as great material to teach a child how to devise questions for himself (and therefore self motivate). So, maybe it won't be quite so bad after all.  I won't tell him that I hate it until we are finished to allow him to have his own opinion.

Finished DESTINED

I really enjoyed this book.  I love the world this is set in, the imagination, the wonderful characters.  A new character was introduced in this book, and he is very interesting.  The reappearance of Heath has a number of people on Goodreads upset.  What is the matter with these people?  Aren't they human, too?  I think the way was prepared for this to happen...the last time Zoey saw him he was in the Otherworld preparing to return to Earth for another life.  If you thought we were done with him, you haven't really noticed how this world works.  Heath will add more conflict for Zoey, for sure, but other things that happened in this book have helped her gain allies, and this may as well.  Bring on the next book and Heath...

I am about to start Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.

Finished about Half of EARTH, A VISITOR'S GUIDE TO THE HUMAN RACE

I have now read about half of this book.  Though humorous in a pretty cynical way, it reads more like a textbook, or collection of primary sources, that with any fiction style.  And, I think my own reading experience is preventing me from enjoying it to my fullest capacity.  I am very good at "suspended disbelief," and by that I mean I jump into fantasy worlds and science fiction worlds easily.  I quickly accept the premises the author gives me and lose myself in another world with great relish.  I'm perfect willing to accept the premise that this is written for alien races who might visit this planet after we have all died, but the cynicism and the constant reference to current tv programs and politics belies the premise.  That rather rattles my sensibilities and I can only take so much of it at a time.  I will return to the book later--but it may be a year or two from now--I relegated it to the bottom of my non-fiction/ humor/ biography pile.



Am now two chapters into Destined, a House of Night novel by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast.  This is the tenth book in the series.  Needless to say, I am enjoying the series mainly because I really like the characters and the fantasy world it is set in.  I needed a book right now that wouldn't jar the rules set up in the premise, and I can count on the Casts (I hope.)

Finished the first section of THE LOST SCRIPTURES

This first section was the Non-Canonical Gospels (still not sure what that means, exactly).  Some were quite readable and interesting.  They added to the gospel stories we have already heard, giving more detail or changing them slightly.  The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (reportedly by Judas Thomas, his twin brother) reported things Jesus did between the ages of 5-12, including the trip with the family to Jerusalem.  The Proto-Gospel of James shed much more light onto Jesus' parents and was ostensibly by Jesus' older half-brother, a son of Joseph before being widowed and meeting Mary.  Other Gospels were much more difficult--dry, redundant, and lecturing.  I am now on p 91 and will stop for awhile, coming back to the book later.



I have now started Earth (The Book)...A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, by the writers of The Daily Show.  It is not as funny as I'd hoped and I may not finish it, but I am now on p 50 and am curious as to where it is going.