Anyway, I never did review the books I read during the read-a-thon. So here's an extremely quick look:
The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. Sweet, funny, feel-good. Fairy-tail-esque. Perfect for read-a-thon. Perfect for Once Upon a Time. Not terribly deep or complex, but wonderfully enjoyable. 
Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. Okay, I will say that I absolutely loved this book. And I will say that Kim, the main character in this graphic novel, felt very authentic to me, and I really adored her. But other than that, I'm just going to wimp out and give you links to Chris's review and Annie's review. (We all read this book on the same day.)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Wow...bittersweet. I enjoyed this even more than The Tale of Despereaux, the only other of her books I've read. Yes, it made me cry, but it certainly left its mark on my heart. I know there's loads of reviews out there, but I'm trying to get this done before the boys get home from school so I'm going to skip linking them at least for the moment.And this is also the reason, I'm going to keep the "blame" short and sweet.
In the bought/paperbackswap column:
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Point for Nymeth.
Skellig by David Almond. Another point for Nymeth.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart.
And for Library Loot (thank you to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra!):
Girl Meets Boy: The Myth of Iphis by Ali Smith. Point for Nymeth.
The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. Points for both Dewey and Nymeth.
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez. Point for Nymeth.
Shooting the Boh by Tracy Johnston. Point for Eva.
one of those books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones. Point for Becky.
Aesop's Fables: A Classics Illustrated Edition.
The Scaredy Cats by Barbara Bottner and Victoria Chess.
The Cat Who Walked Across France by Kate Banks George Hallensleben.
The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer and Nicoletta Ceccoli. Point for Nymeth.
15 comments:
i didn't realised you homeschooled. Is that easy to do? I am a qualified primary school teacher and I think I would find it really difficult to keep to a timetable in the home environment, so I take my hat off to you.
Great book haul. I have a Sharon Creech book in my pile - will have to get round to reading it.
April went by way too fast. I'm still a little stunned that it's not March still. :)
I can understand spring fever...it is hard to be inside doing school work when it's nice outside whether you homeschool or not ;)
Have you read Because of Winn Dixie? I think you might like it. I can't make up my mind which of DiCamillo's books is my favorite. They're all so good. :)
I do remember Edward Tulane being hard to review just because it was so perfectly perfect. It's a book that I finished and just had to share right then and there with my mom.
I'm always so impressed with those who participate in the Readathon. I seriously can't read for long stretches, especially in such a short time span. Very impressive :)
Wow, snow one day and 80's the next, is that even possible? Weird is an understatement!
Hope you have a great week, enjoy the rest of the "school year"! :)
I'm with Becky: I'm stunned it's not March. In fact, you could make that February. I have no idea what's up with 2009.
Skim and The Castle Corona both sound like books I'd really enjoy - in completely different ways and for different reasons, but they both appeal to me a lot.
And Edward Tulane! I think I also liked it even more than Despereuax <3
I'm so excited you got Palomar! If I'm not mistaken, that edition contains both Heartbreak Soup and Human Diastrophism, which is book two. I read that last week and I think I liked it even more than the first book. You're definitely in for a treat.
I haven't been in much of a blogging mood this month, either! I still haven't caught up on reviews for March and here it is almost May! I am not sure what it is... We have had some weird weather here, too!
I have a few of those books on my TBR pile. I am looking forward to getting around to reading them!
I can't believe April is almost over too! Time seems to pass by us quickly without us knowingly!
Edward Tulane's books sounds great to me! I'm going to have to check out his books now! :D
Our weather has been a little strange here recently too...mainly because it feels like it's JULY!!! I hate humid weather and it reared it's ugly face with a vengeance.
I'm so glad that you enjoyed Skim as much as I did :) I agree..she was an extremely authentic character. That's so much fun that the three of us all read the book on the same day!
And look at all of those points for Nymeth! Sheesh!
wow you sure spread the blame around lol.. well.. sorta.. i mean Nymeth always gets the blame LOL..
Scrap Girl,
I homeschool my 12-year-old daughter, but my two boys go to public school. As far as easy...well, each state in the U.S. has its own regulations. My state happens to have some of the strictest, so it involves a lot of paperwork. But it's the constant lesson planning that kills me. (I don't use a pre-made curriculum, though many people do.) But even though on average it takes me 60+ hours a week, it's still very much worth it.
This was the first Sharon Creech I'd ever read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. My daughter has read some others of hers and loved them all.
Becky,
Bellezza recommended Winn Dixie to me, too. And I went immediately to grab it from Annie's shelves, but it turns out she gave it away after she read it. Will definitely have to add it to my library list.
Stacy,
If you'd have asked me if it was possible to have snow one day and 80 degree temps the next a week ago, I would have thought not. But now I know better having witnessed it! :)
Nymeth,
I thought of you as I read Castle Corona. :) It's actually quite a simplistic little story, and yet it still ever so delightful.
I think you're right that this Palomar book has both combined. It must as enormous as it is! Seriously, I can hardly hold this book to read it. In fact, I don't really hold it, but lay it down in front of me. I've just barely started it, but I'm really enjoying it so far. :)
Kailana,
I'm not surprised you're behind on your reviews! In fact, I think it would IMPOSSIBLE to keep caught up with them as many books as you get read. I'm personally amazed by how many reviews you do get posted!
Melody,
Oh, I really, really think you would adore The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! It's sad, but it's oh so very sweet as well.
Chris,
I think it's pretty darn cool we all read Skim the same day, too. :) That book was just so damn good. But then you know that already. Not only did Kim seem so authentic, but the whole story did as well, you know?
DesLily,
Isn't she awful?!! And I mean that in the nicest way, of course. :)
I still haven't started on Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech, but I'm aching to. I must try to finish my library pile first, though. They are all due next week! Like you, I've been pulled outside by the weather, and haven't been reading as much as usual.
It IS cool that you all read Skim on the same day!
Bryn and I listened to Edward Tulane when I was pregnant with Grant...it really is a beautiful story but somehow left me feeling a little sad.
I never did get a card in the mail to Annie for her birthday so give her a birthday hug for me! And we never did reach a kid present agreement...
I've really missed you this/last week. You guys sure do have your spring break late--how far into the summer do you go?
Your weather kind of sounds like Texas weather. We're not that cold anymore, but it isn't too common for us to be freezing one day and in the 80s the next. We've hit a few days in the 90s already--hopefully it isn't a terribly hot summer.
I'll have to check out Skim. I've been looking for another graphic novel to read, although I also really want to read Maus as well. What do you think...? Any other recommendations?
Nymeth has so much to answer for across the blogosphere...
It's amazing how fast the time goes, isn't it? I can't believe April is almost over either. O_O Where has the time gone?
The books you read for the read-a-thon all sound very interesting. ^-^ Especially the last one...
*huggles* Glad to hear from you! May your good weather continue and you find that your break has arrived before you know it! ^-^
Edward Tulane is a beautiful, beautiful, heart-wrenchingly lovely, totally frickin' awesome book. Love it! So glad you enjoyed it. It is one of those rare books that I would love to buy about 100 copies of to just give away to people I love who I know would benefit from the message contained therein.
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