L is for Levithan

I just finished reading Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.  I listened to it as an audio book.  My first impression was that the story was going to be annoying because the way it is read can be over the top sometimes.  However, once I settled in to the story and got to know the characters better I found it really enjoyable.  The story takes place in an idealized town where kids don't care about sexual or gender orientation.  The narrator is Paul, who has known he is gay since he was five.  The fact that he is gay is not the main point or a conflict in the book.  Rather, it is a story about him falling in love, and still struggling with feelings for a past boyfriend.  This is a refreshing read for teens that doesn't view being gay as being a problem.  After reading the whole book I will definitely recommend it to others.

Mid-June Update

16.  I have written in my journal 3 times so far this month, so I'm on track for that goal.


21.  I read The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin


22.  I read Goose Girl by Shannon Hale


41.  Amy, Justin and I had a game night on Saturday.  It was a lot of fun, and we got to play lots of board games.


42. I cooked two new recipes so far.  The firs twas BBQ beef sandwiches, which I made in a crock pot.  They were smoky and tasty.  The second was Mexican lasagna.  It was really easy and tasted pretty good!


44.  I cooked at home on the 9th and 16th, although I missed one week.


61.  I got my second HPV vaccine shot.  Only one more to go!


66.  I'm just about ready to say this one is complete.  I have almost fully converted to Curly Girl.  I wash my hair differently, and dry it differently.  It has gotten much curlier.  So far this month I tried two of the recipes.  I used lemon and baking soda in recipes to clean my hair.  I'm just waiting to see if I can get a Deva style hair cut before I call this one complete.


70.  So far I have done something outside 6 times this month.


75.  I went to another local event: the Apalachin Field Days.  My dad and I worked in the balloon dart booth to benefit challenger baseball.


92.  I am on week 5 out of 6 of my sit ups plan.  I think I may have to repeat the last two weeks a few times before I am ready to do 200 sit ups though.


94.  I finished week 6/12 of my walking.


Finally:  I decided to get rid of goals 38.  Make a list of 100 things I want to see, and 39.  See 20 of them.  I took this goal from someone else's list, and it isn't really resonating with me.  I still am doing the other goal of making a list of things I want to learn about.  I will update when I have replacements for these goals.

L is for LeGuin and W is for Wood

I recently finished two books for my children's book goals. Both of these would be enjoyable for older readers as well, but I am counting them as children's because they would probably be enjoyed by older elementary readers.

The first is The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling.  The School Library Journal review said that this book is like a mix between Jane Eyre and Lemony Snicket, and I see what they mean.  Penelope has just graduated from a boarding school for intelligent orphans.  At the age of 15, she is ready to enter the world as a governess for a rich family.  She responds to an ad and gets a job as the governess to three children.  However, she only finds out after she is hired that these children were raised by wolves, and recently discovered living in the woods.  Penelope does her best to overcome this obstacle, determined to teach the children Latin and French, as well as how to dress and eat properly.  I really enjoyed this story and will eagerly await its sequel.  Not only is the story  entertaining, but it is accompanies by lovely illustrations of the children and their antics.

The next book I finished was A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.  I can see why this has become a classic fantasy book.  The story is quite different from other fantasy series I have read, and is very interesting.  However, during this read I finally admitted to myself that I don't enjoy high fantasy as much as I have always thought I would.  However, for readers that enjoy it, this is one of the better books I have read.  I made the choice not to continue the series though, as I have recently struggled to get through other long high fantasy series (The Dark is Rising Sequence, and Lloyd Alexander's books, for example).

H is for Shannon Hale

I just listened to a great YA audio book of The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.  I shouldn't have been surprised that I loved it, because I tend to love stories that are retellings of fairy tales.  This novel tells the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm.  It is about Ani, a princess who is betrayed by her guard and closest friend and must become a Goose Girl in a far away land before she can reclaim who she really is.  The characters are very well drawn, as is the plot.  There is always a sense of danger around Ani, and the reader feels that her peaceful life as a goose girl could be ended at any moment.

T is for Tolkien

I finished reading The Hobbit for goal 21, to read 26 children's novels.

I was actually surprised how entertaining this story of a 50-something year old hobbit could be.  I don't think I loved it as much as other people have, but I thought it was entertaining to see Bilbo get himself out of various scrapes, and surprise himself with his courage and adventurous spirit.

Z is for Zusak, and P is for Peck

For goal 22 I have recently read two more YA novels.

The first is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  What can I say?  This book was amazing.  It tells the story of Liesel, who has come to live with  a foster family, the Hubermanns in the early days of Nazi Germany.  The story is told from the point of view of Death, who views the war and the persecution of Jews from a very interesting perspective.  Liesel copes with the difficulties of her life and the war through developing a love of words and reading.  I have not cried reading a book in years, but I was sobbing during this one.  I really recommend the audio book version, which I thought was extremely well done.

The second book I recently finished is The River Between Us by Richard Peck.  This is a fairly short novel about Tilly Pruitt, who lives on the Mississippi River with her family in a town that borders the Union and Confederate territories.  Her life is changed forever when two mysterious women from the south show up on a steamboat, one glamorous and ladylike, and the other darker, perhaps a slave.  Peck's novel shows the beginnings of the Civil War from a perspective that I have never seen before.  It was interesting from a historical point of view, as well as a well-told story about family, love and friendship.

(Late) End of May Update.

Progress since the last update:

Complete!
45. Go to 10 new restaurants.  I finished this when Justin and I were in Corning.  We went to Thali of India for lunch.  It was great.  I hadn't had Indian food in a few years and was really craving it.

In progress:

16.  I journaled 5 times this month

20.  I finished The Kite Runner and Their Eyes Were Watching God


21.  I finished The Hobbit


22.  I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and The River Between Us by Richard Peck


37.  I watched my S movie: Signs


40.  I had a tv free night in all but one week of May

42.  I cooked Jerk Chicken with Asparagus and Cauliflower, which I took a picture of:

44.  I cooked at home 3/4 weeks because I didn't cook this week.

49.  For our date Justin spent a day in Corning, NY.  We went shopping at all the local shops and had fabulous Indian food.

51.  I shopped at a few local businesses in Corning, including buying something from Market Street Coffee and Tea

92.  I am restarting my sit-ups at week 3 because I lapsed a little bit and want to build my strength up more before continuing.

94.  I've completely stopped walking the past few weeks so I'll have to get back into it

Reading like crazy

I've recently finished two wonderful novels for goal number 20.

The first is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  This novel is a heartbreaking and touching story of family, regret, and redemption.  It is told from the point of view of Amir, who witnesses a tragedy committed against his childhood friend without doing anything to stop it.  He has to live with this decision for the rest of his life.  This novel was hard to read at points, but ultimately was worth it for its realism and the emotion it stirs.

T

The next is Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This was one of those books that I had heard of, but I still had no idea what it is about.  It tells the story of a woman, Janie, growing up black in the 1930s.  Although she is technically 3/4ths white, and gets a lot of attention for her looks, ultimately she is considered a black woman.  Not only is this a novel about black people living in this time and place, it is truly a feminist novel in some ways.  Janie is not satisfied to always be second to the men she marries throughout her life, although it takes her some time to come to the realization that she can have some power over her own life and love.