TeacherDad Strives for 75 in 2012

Conversazioni75 Books Challenge for 2012

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TeacherDad Strives for 75 in 2012

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1TeacherDad
Gen 2, 2012, 8:15 pm

Getting off to a good start, opening the year with Swamplandia!

2alcottacre
Gen 2, 2012, 8:17 pm

Glad to see you back with us again, Joel!

3drneutron
Gen 2, 2012, 8:54 pm

Welcome back!

4lalbro
Gen 2, 2012, 9:30 pm

I loved Swamplandia -- hope you enjoy it too!

5TeacherDad
Gen 6, 2012, 4:28 pm

http://mommasachsturns30.blogspot.com/

My cousin is attempting 30 biographies in the next year... I think I may shoot for ten, not counting sports.

6alcottacre
Gen 6, 2012, 11:00 pm

Ten sounds like a good goal to me!

7TeacherDad
Gen 14, 2012, 12:54 am

drum roll, please...

#1 book for 2012 -- Swamplandia!*

A book I've wanted to read since it came out since I liked her short stories in ...Raised by Wolves. This one isn't as strange, still odd and has a creepy guy, but more poetic, heartfelt. Really liked it, highly recommend.

4/5 stars

*A book so good it provides its own exclamation point!

8Storeetllr
Gen 14, 2012, 1:16 am

Hey, Joel! Happy New Year! Swamplandia sounds good. I'm going to see if I can get it from the library this weekend.

9TeacherDad
Modificato: Gen 17, 2012, 10:49 pm

Questo messaggio è stato cancellato dall'autore.

10TeacherDad
Modificato: Gen 17, 2012, 10:49 pm

Sto, I doubt you'll be disappointed -- enjoy, and watch out for the gators!

11TeacherDad
Modificato: Gen 17, 2012, 10:50 pm

#2 -- Glitz, which would be my 6th? 7th? book by Elmore; I may have to update my list ( http://quitmyjob-nowwhat.blogspot.com/2010/07/seven-authors.html ) ... not the funniest or the sharpest of his books, but he has a pace and tosses in enough interesting characters/events to keep me reading (often well into the night when I really shouldn't).

3.5/5 stars

12TeacherDad
Feb 1, 2012, 10:29 pm

Ah, finally got a classroom of my own... I'd love to read to them, hope they're not too old for that, and I'm looking for suggestions -- I need something not too complicated yet interesting enough to keep their attention even if I can only read a chapter a day, at the most?

13TeacherDad
Feb 6, 2012, 11:56 pm

Finished! It's thick, and I've been busy, but finally knocked that baby out --

#3 11/22/1963 Time travel, bad guys and good guys, ethical issues, small town schmaltz, some romance, and a little dancing. A page turner, I read far too late into the night most of last week, but a bit corny and simple rather than taut and dramatic.

3.5/5 stars

14TeacherDad
Apr 16, 2012, 12:05 am

Hmm, I really should catch this up. Been working hard/a lot, but I do miss me some LT!

15scaifea
Apr 16, 2012, 7:59 am

We miss you too! :)

16TeacherDad
Apr 17, 2012, 12:06 am

I have been reading, just not as much, because I have been teaching, finally got my own classroom! I've also become addicted to Twitter (Inspired2_Teach) and FB (you guessed it: Inspired to Teach) and getting caught up reading books to recommend to my 5th graders (they're voracious!).

Not sure of the exact order, but in the past few months I have read Fire and Rain, Born Standing Up, 11/22/1963, and Neverwhere...

17TeacherDad
Apr 17, 2012, 12:08 am

Saw this great (but NSFW, children, or the easily surprised) video from a master book jacket designer -- love his work and his feeling towards books!

http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_kidd_designing_books_is_no_laughing_matter_ok_it_i...

p.s. Has anyone read 1Q84? Looks interesting...

18Morphidae
Apr 17, 2012, 6:56 am

I saw the video and really enjoyed it. He's quite a character.

19TeacherDad
Modificato: Apr 17, 2012, 11:31 am

Yes he is. Couldn't figure out what was up with the glasses though, maybe it's the new hip style? Did they break right before stepping on stage? I love those TED talks -- how about the n-gram?

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/what_we_learned_from_5_million_books.html

try it yourself:
http://books.google.com/ngrams

20TeacherDad
Modificato: Apr 17, 2012, 10:53 am

And I have kept track of my reading a little on facebook "Read Any Good Books Lately? page.... I'll have to transfer over to keep my 2012 quest alive.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173357249395927/

21TeacherDad
Modificato: Apr 18, 2012, 12:41 am

>1 TeacherDad: Dang, I was hoping book #1 would rake in the Pulitzer...

book #4 : My Life as an Experiment by the always entertaining and usually informative AJ Jacobs. Not as deep as his previous books, these are more or less his magazine articles, revised for book form, but still quite interesting.

22seasonsoflove
Apr 17, 2012, 11:16 am

A fellow teacher! I teach Pre-k.

23TeacherDad
Apr 17, 2012, 11:33 am

Oy, them are way too little for me! But I did teach Kinder P.E. last 2 years and now I really miss my morning walks and games with the tiny ones.

24scaifea
Apr 17, 2012, 12:45 pm

Congrats on the teaching gig!

I read The Know-It-All recently and had mixed feelings about it. Mostly I liked it, but sometimes his tone annoyed me; he likes to think that his neuroses and his cleverness are cute and endearing, and I'm not so sure... Still, I'm tempted to pick up some of his other work.

25alcottacre
Apr 17, 2012, 8:06 pm

*waving* at Joel

26TeacherDad
Apr 18, 2012, 12:53 am

*waving back!*

Ok, not exactly in chronological order and I may have missed a couple...

#5: Sixty Feet, Six Inches -- HOF baseball discussion
#6: My Life as an Experiment -- another funny and informative ...oops, already listed that one.
#6: Neverwhere -- an early Neil Gaiman, humor, gore and the supernatural. Loved it.
#7: Downtown Owl -- not a fan. Kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but it didn't come until last 30 pages when he killed off main characters. I do like Chuck's nonfiction/pop culture writing though.
#8: Born Standing Up -- Steve Martin's autobio of early life and career. Interesting, felt personal and open.

27TeacherDad
Apr 18, 2012, 1:01 am

more!

#9 & #10: Catching Fire and Mockingjay -- liked first book best, 3rd book the least, but that's usually how it goes with me and a series. Not enough Katniss action or personal risk/inner turmoil by the end, and the violence was unnecessarily over the top.

I know, I know, I can't really count these because as an adult I shouldn't be reading children's books, er, teen fiction, oops, Young Adult Literature.

Whatever.

I read some other children's books too, so sue me:

http://teacherdadbooks.blogspot.com/

28TeacherDad
Modificato: Apr 18, 2012, 1:18 am

wait, found one more over on my other guilty pleasure/black hole of productive time, Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/173357249395927/ ) :

#11 Fire and Rain: Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, CSNY, James Taylor -- detail of the year 1970, the rise of JT and the demise of the Beatles, with politics and pop culture mixed in. Very interesting, and put me on a real 70s music jag for awhile.

29alcottacre
Apr 18, 2012, 7:01 pm

#26: How was Sixty Feet, Six Inches? As a baseball fan, it looks like one I would enjoy!

30TeacherDad
Apr 22, 2012, 11:22 pm

It was good, the baseball stuff was detailed and interesting with the back and forth of hitter vs. hurler. Both HOFers sound confident enough to get right back out there and show they know what they're talking about. Touched on civil rights issues, competitiveness, clubhouse relationships -- def recommend for baseball fans.

31TeacherDad
Apr 22, 2012, 11:48 pm

#12 and my first ebook on Son #2's Nook: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. I enjoyed the book much, much better than the e-experience of e-reading it on the e-screen. It wasn't bad to read that way, it just wasn't as good as reading with a real, live book.
3.5/5 stars

#13
: Robopocalypse -- one of those books I tell myself not to pick up, either because I know it will be a) trashy and crappy and it is, therefore my time has been wasted and I'll hate myself for it, or b) it will be trashy and crappy but good and my time was still a little wasted but that's just the reading snob in me (i.e. Michael Crichton, Elmore Leonard, graphic novels) -- anyway, this one started out better than it ended, I think because we know the ending from the start. No real suspense, no taut writing creating edge of seat reading. First few chapters were great, I was afraid to answer my phone or walk by the computer, and while it stayed interesting it wasn't great. Quick, take to the park or beach read.


32avatiakh
Apr 23, 2012, 3:37 pm

Just catching up on your thread and I felt the same about the Hunger Games books. I read quite a lot of YA and children's books and they can count towards your 75 if you want them to, we don't do rules here. Occasionally I string a few of the quicker reads together and have them count towards one book. I'd love to see what you've been reading in this genre so will check out some of your links.
There's a What We Are Reading: Juvenile & Young Adult thread in the group as well if you are after some recommendations.

33TeacherDad
Apr 23, 2012, 10:44 pm

Thanks, I love recommendations!
Right now I'm looking for something fictional I can read out loud as my class starts colonial America/Revolution War... but not Johnny Tremain.

34avatiakh
Apr 24, 2012, 12:22 am

I'm not that well versed in fiction for this period, but you could browse the selection here, where there are a few books suggested for the younger age groups or try this booklist. I picked out Avi's The Fighting Ground as possibly suitable but you'd have to check if it's good for reading aloud. I loved M T Anderson's Octavian Nothing novels but I guess they're too old for your class.

35TeacherDad
Apr 24, 2012, 11:51 pm

#s 14 and 15 are both children's lit. Actually I'd say Click, the novel with an author for each chapter, is more YA due to subject matter and comprehension level needed to read between the lines. It's interesting, some chapters are more stand alone/better than other chapters, but it's not always clear what happens, especially towards the end. Boom! is quick and fun and has aliens with furry tails.

36TeacherDad
Mag 1, 2012, 10:36 pm

#16 The Museum Guard is different, interesting, and touching. I gave it 4/5 stars, which is rare for me, even though I know it's probably not really that good.

An uninspired young man and his frustrated love life, drunk womanizing Uncle, cemetery gardener girlfriend, and the Dutch art that brings them all together. The girl friend loses touch with reality, Hitler revs up WWII, and you are not supposed to get too close to the paintings! The last 10% was strange because the main character disappears for a large chunk of time, but otherwise something about this book made me really like it.

37TeacherDad
Mag 12, 2012, 1:34 pm

#17 Ender's Game -- a YA sci-fi book that's been on my wish list for a while but just never got to it. Finally did and very glad, thought=provoking, intelligent, thrilling, mysterious... which equals highly recommended. The parts I wasn't thrilled with as I read it made perfect sense in the end. Minor quibble, and maybe I don't really want to know, is why was it necessary to point out how often the characters were naked?

I know there are sequels but I'm wary of them tarnishing my esteem of book #1... my curiosity will prob get the best of me though.

38scaifea
Mag 14, 2012, 7:28 am

Ooh, I loved Ender's Game - glad you did too! The next two in the series are still very good, but after that, for me, it went bad.

39Morphidae
Mag 14, 2012, 7:37 am

None of the Ender books are as good as the first but I still found them readable and enjoyable.

40avatiakh
Mag 16, 2012, 6:22 am

Me too! Really enjoyed reading this series of books.

41TeacherDad
Mag 20, 2012, 10:52 pm

A co-worker just brought me O.S. Card's Enchantment and I may get to it tonight since I just finished #18 A Walk in the Woods -- one of those authors I see all over the place and never pick up and try, but the Librarian said I should and I never, ever argue with Librarians. Glad I didn't, 'cause it's funny, smart, warm, and once I got cozy in bed I couldn't let go (of the the book, not the Librarian!). I'd put it on my list of inspiring books too, made me walk to head back east and see some real forests, plus I got up and hiked extra far this morning...

42Morphidae
Mag 21, 2012, 8:02 am

The link points to a play but I'm assuming you are referring to the book by Bill Bryson? I really enjoy his work.

43TeacherDad
Mag 21, 2012, 10:43 pm

Yep, should be Bryson. Starting The Thunderbolt Kid soon and probably the English language one.

44Morphidae
Mag 23, 2012, 8:23 am

I'm reading Notes from a Small Island. It's not as good as some others I've read by him.

45TeacherDad
Mag 23, 2012, 8:46 pm

That's what I worry about -- I have 2nd books from Bryson and Orson Scott Card but the expectations are high and I don't want to be disappointed. But I suppose that's true of a lot of things in life -- first kisses are nice, that first warm cookie is great, my first son is awesome... but if I never tried the second?

46TeacherDad
Mag 23, 2012, 8:52 pm

Book 18: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders -- Since reading Satanic Verses many, many years ago I've been a fan of the poetry and humor of India/Pakistan area lit. This one is really good, relationships, class, expectations and disappointments of life, more modern than steeped in history. I may have enjoyed it better if I read it straight through, but being short stories (but connected) I read it between other books.

4/5 stars

47TeacherDad
Mag 23, 2012, 8:54 pm

The Wife says w/out 2nd kisses I'd have no sons, but w/out 2nd cookies I'd fit into a lot more of my pants. The nerve!
Excuse me while I thump her with pillows until she makes brownies.

48Morphidae
Mag 25, 2012, 7:32 am

>47 TeacherDad: Hee hee. Well, I've read three or four books by Bryson and this is the only one I haven't liked, so you should be okay.

49TeacherDad
Mag 27, 2012, 4:56 pm

#19 goes back to East Coast nature for me, Wolves & Honey: A Natural History a quick little memoir of growing up in upper/western New York area and her observations on nature, especially bees, and the people that helped form her interest in it growing up. Interesting.

3.75/5 stars

50TeacherDad
Giu 10, 2012, 12:27 pm

#20 is another Bill Bryson (I tend to binge on new authors), his memories and history of American life in the 1950s Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Pretty good, lots of funny parts.

51TeacherDad
Lug 27, 2012, 6:03 pm

Hmmm... either I skipped a few or I really haven't finished a book in several months? Well now that summer vacation has begun, I vow to correct the issues asap!

Got 3 books going on right now and a Library+Amazon stack that's making ot very hard to decide what is next. Trying to post a photo here but forgot how.

In progress: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (for read aloud/lessons next year), A Long Way Home Ishmael Beah (boy soldier memoir), and Untouchable (which I will either call a great book or it will end unhappily and I'll never speak of it again).

52TeacherDad
Lug 29, 2012, 11:57 pm

#21 Uglies -- a reread, which I don't do often, but actually enjoyed more this time. Love to read this to a 6th grade class.

#22 Untouchable by Scott O'Conner -- wow. Loved it. Almost hated it when I thought it was going to end bad for the heroes, but then loved it even more. Not an easy read (death of a mother, school bullies, grieving husband) but powerful and emotional and very, very well done.
Highly recommended.

53TeacherDad
Lug 30, 2012, 12:23 am

Oops, my counting is off.

#21 should have been Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside ESPN, #22 Enchantment -- modern fairy tale, quite entertaining, #23 Out of My Mind, and #24 The Search for WondLa a juv fantasy...

Which makes the last two in above post #s 25 and 26. Think I'm all caught up!

54TeacherDad
Lug 31, 2012, 1:39 pm

So 1/2 way through #27?, Seth Grahame-Smith's Unholy Night and need a break. Not wow-ing me. I liked P & P & Zombies, although my wife thought it was blasphemous, but this one seems to take itself too seriously, and as a serious book it's not working.

What next? Age of Miracles or Fall of Giants?

55TeacherDad
Ago 1, 2012, 11:46 pm

#28 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier -- I seem to be in a pattern of reading books with children in danger, and this one tops them all: genocide, rape, starvation, abduction, drug abuse, and fighting as a soldier when one is hardly larger than the guns. But told well, quick paced, charismatic narrator, positive ending.

3.5/5 stars

56TeacherDad
Modificato: Ago 7, 2012, 12:08 pm

#29 on a roll... Job: A Comedy of Justice

I liked it, I rolled my eyes, I liked it, I finished it. Parts of it I really enjoyed (the 'Job" character is tossed from reality to reality, some worlds have television and blimps for air travel, some have a king in Mexico, etc; St. Pete & Lucifer are some of several interesting characters) and parts I got tired of (the biblical quotes grew old, whether Heinlein was trying to save souls or make fun or simply show off his knowledge/skepticism, it took away from the story).

Overall, entertaining, light/fun read, give it 3/5 stars

57TeacherDad
Ago 7, 2012, 11:58 am

#30 (which at 1000+ pages should count for two) -- Stephen King's hard to lift Under the Dome, a ridiculously violent and pessimistic view of what would happen if we lived in a snow globe. Loved the premise, loved most of the characters, obviously interesting enough to read the whole durn thing, but felt a little dirty after (kind of like listening to an entire Motley Crue album).

2.5/5 stars

And while I'm not sure why I picked another end of the world book, Karen Walker's The Age of Miracles is shaping up to be well worth the doom and gloom. The planet may be slowing down but middle school and family drama goes on... excellent so far.

58TeacherDad
Ago 7, 2012, 2:46 pm

#31 -- The Age of Miracles. Wow. Very good, in a dismal, no hope for the future kind of way. Fantastic yet realistic, true characters with a strong, clear narrative voice. Loved it, highly recommend it.

4/5 stars

59TeacherDad
Ago 11, 2012, 4:27 pm

#32 -- Albert of Adelaide a shoot 'em up Western, Australian-style, starring a platypus. Yes, a platypus, with help from a lost raccoon and a pack of dingoes. Double crossing, revenge, gin, arson, and chases across the desert -- the boys of Lonesome Dove would be proud.

Interesting, quick read. 3/5 stars

60alcottacre
Modificato: Ago 12, 2012, 1:00 am

#58: Adding The Age of Miracles to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Joel!

61TeacherDad
Ago 13, 2012, 1:04 am

Yer welcome. It's easily in my top 5 of the year, so far.

62TeacherDad
Ago 13, 2012, 6:43 pm

#33 When the cricket gets whacked 4 pages in, you know we ain't in Disneyland no more... The Adventures of Pinocchio* original 1880 style, is a little different from the movie, similar perils and moral but not as cute. Interesting, funny.

*Couldn't find exact touchstone for my book, but it's illustrated very nicely by Roberto Innocenti

4/5 stars

63seajelly
Ago 16, 2012, 3:07 pm

That's the version of Pinocchio that I read some time back. I don't remember much of it except that i was quite surprised about the whacking of the cricket!

I've been on the fence about reading Age of Miracles on my list, but I'll be putting in on my list now. Thanks!

64TeacherDad
Ago 17, 2012, 7:34 pm

>63 seajelly: ... I think the cricket was quite surprised too!

#34 -- The Geographer's Library, another mystery, even though I'm not real fond of mysteries. Go figure. This one went back and forth across continents and centuries following valuable artifacts and the investigation into a odd, reclusive Professor. Interesting characters and dialogue, but not a deep hard to figure mystery.

2.75/5 stars

65TeacherDad
Ago 19, 2012, 1:36 pm

#35 -- Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

Not sure if I was just disappointed because I expected more wit and humor or if it's a really bad book. I enjoyed P & P and Zombies and thought this would be similar, but nope. Violent sword and camel adventure story involving Herod, baby Jesus's escape to Egypt, and a master criminal with (eventually/sort of) a heart of gold.

Meh. 2.5/5 stars.

66TeacherDad
Dic 4, 2012, 10:09 pm

Oy vey, I haven't stopped by here in too long... How can I keep a list of which books I read if when I go to update the list of books I read I don't remember which books I read?

67TeacherDad
Dic 4, 2012, 10:12 pm

I have been trying to keep track here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173357249395927/

but don't know if that's all of 'em.

68TeacherDad
Dic 4, 2012, 10:21 pm

#36: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, YA modern teen vampire seeker with lust and guilt issues (and lots of rats) -- 3 stars

#37: The Twelve by Justin Cronin, sequel to The Passage and while page turningly good not as good as the first book. This one has a ton of interesting characters and exciting plot lines but reads more like an action thriller. I guess you'd say the Passage was deeper?

And to continue the vampire theme, just started A Discovery of Witches. I've heard mixed reviews, wondering if it's worth it...

69TeacherDad
Modificato: Dic 10, 2012, 7:55 pm

#38 Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store An interesting little story about a mysterious book holding the key to eternal life, and the Geeksters who unravel the secrets. Made me love both books and computers more.

70TeacherDad
Gen 25, 2013, 11:15 pm

#39: Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore
#40: Prey by Michael Crichton
#41: The Last Headbangers by Kevin Cook
#42: Dream City by Brendan Short
#43: "Who Could That Be At This Hour?" by Lemony Snicket

So... failed. Did not make my 75 book goal. : (
To be fair, I did get a classroom job that took up a ton 'o reading time. Working for a living does cut into reading time. And I'm sure I read a few things that I forgot to type up. I'm a bad LibraryThing-er.

Oh well, already started on 2013 -- shoot for 75 again?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173357249395927/