I listened to Across Five Aprils shortly after reading Nightjohn and so listening to AFA was more difficult than it might have been otherwise. I had heard that Irene Hunt was a great author and this is only book that I have read of hers. This was a Newbery Honor Book. Nightjohn was not. Huh. Strange? Surprising? Not really, given the 1954 quality of the Newbery.
Across Five Aprils was a good book. It was. But the thing is...while there are definitely anti-slavery messages in this book, there are also characters who are pro-slavery. Or people who at the very least, argue that the South should have been allowed to make its own decisions regarding slavery. Now I know this is realistic. Of course there were mixed emotions, strong emotions. I know that...but, but I just don't get it. I just don't. I found myself feeling the same way as I listened to Revolution. In that book there were characters who were trying to find their way, get their heads around racial relations. I just don't get it...it just makes no sense to me. How, how, how can separate but not equal make any sense? How can one be judged by the color of one's skin? How does that work? How does what one looks like on the outside make any difference at all when it comes to, well, anything? How? I don't know. I just don't know.
What's Going On Here?
There are SO MANY wonderful book review blogs out there and I can't compete with them, that is for sure. So this is not a book review blog. This is just a way for me to organize what I have read so that I can be better at matching the right book to the right person. The blog title comes from the brilliant mind of the most talented woman who ever lived, Ms. Judy Garland. The full quote is, "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else." That is what I hope to do here and in ever aspect of my life.
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Illinois. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Good Run of Bad Books
Remember this song? I feel like I haven't had a WOW book in awhile. True, I did have the Virgil Flowers, but that was an audio and it just seems like so long ago....These last ones seem bad man. I don't know. On the Day I Died wasn't bad-bad. It is basically a collection of short stories, told by ghosts of kids, about the day that they died. It is set in Chicago. So I have Illinois done. But the short stories were so up or down, so good or not good. I blew through some of them so fast, that I feel a little weird about saying that I read it, but I did, but man, I really didn't savor it, you know? Great cover, cool idea, some of the stories are good, but yeah, over all, not one to read cover to cover.
Actually, I realized I skipped a chapter, so I am not going to count this as read. I gotta go back and change it on goodreads.com. Yeah, the other ones were just that "meh" that I can't make myself read this remaining short story. I tried. Blah.
Actually, I realized I skipped a chapter, so I am not going to count this as read. I gotta go back and change it on goodreads.com. Yeah, the other ones were just that "meh" that I can't make myself read this remaining short story. I tried. Blah.
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