Showing posts with label 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2021. Show all posts

Saturday 3 April 2021

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (Book 13/52)

 On Tuesday I decided it was time to resurrect my weekly book recommendation - Tuesday's Treasures and shared about books by the author Beverley Cleary.  She was a Newberry Medal Winner, a Teachers Top 100 Book author for children and won the ALA Notable Children's book award. She wrote timeless, beautiful books.  For this weeks edition of 52 Books in 52 Weeks and in honour of her contribution to literature I decided to read the gorgeous hard cover edition of Dear Mr. Henshaw.


 Dear Mr. Henshaw

  • Format Paperback | 133 pages 
  • Dimensions 133 x 190 x 10.16mm | 91g 
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc I
  • Language English 
  • Author Beverly Cleary
  • Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky
  • ISBN10 0380709589 
  • ISBN13 9780380709588

From Book Depository - Beverly Cleary's timeless Newbery Medal-winning book explores difficult topics like divorce, insecurity, and bullying through the thoughts and emotions of a sixth-grade boy as he writes to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw.

After his parents separate, Leigh Botts moves to a new town with his mother. Struggling to make friends and deal with his anger toward his absent father, Leigh loses himself in a class assignment in which he must write to his favorite author. When Mr. Henshaw responds, the two form an unexpected friendship that will change Leigh's life forever.

From the beloved author of the Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse series comes an epistolary novel about how to navigate and heal from life's growing pains.
 

My Thoughts -  I was rather surprised by this little gem. Dear Mr. Henshaw is written entirley from the perspective of Leigh through letters (epistolary) to Mr. Henshaw.  

The books opens up with a letter when he is in second grade and writes his first letter to Mr. Henshaw. It progresses to Leigh's sixth grade year just after his parents seperate. Through his letters to Mr. Henshaw we learn about his concerns and inner conflicts. We walk alongside him as he struggles with being the new kid in school, his changing relationship with his father and a lunch box thief. 

The character development is realistic as Leigh struggles with divorce child blues, loneliness and flashes of inspirational wisdom on dealing with life in a more mature way (not catching the thief).  He learns that pursuing a dream is not always easy however pursuing it does have unexpected outcomes some times (when he enters a writing competition... that will be a spoiler you will need to read the book to find out what happened.)

I really enjoyed reading this story and think that young adults and tweens could benefit and grow in empathy towards others through reading Dear Mr. Henshaw. 

My Completed Reading list for 2021

  1. The Reading Life by C.S. Lewis
  2. Joseph Dreamer of Dreams by E. Traylor
  3. The Good Master by Kate Seredy
  4. The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert 
  5. False Impression by Jeffrey Archer
  6. To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey
  7. Pegasus in Space by Anne McCaffrey
  8. The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey
  9. Damia by Anne McCaffrey
  10. Damia's Children by Anne McCaffrey
  11. Lyon's Pride & The Tower and the Hive  by Anne McCaffrey
  12. Siezure by Robin Cook 
  13. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Benerly Cleary

 What books do you recommend for tweens that are deeper and throughtful books?

Linking with Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks BW13

Saturday 20 March 2021

The Talent Series by Anne McCaffrey (Books 6-11 /52 books in 52 Weeks)

 It always amazes me how quickly time dissappears!  It's been six weeks since I last posted and added to my read 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I got a little behind and then had a minor surgery which required two weeks of bed rest.  This in turn was a blessing in disguise as what is a better way of spending bed rest than reading one of your favourite authors or genres!  

I decided to reaqaint myself with Anne McCaffrey better known as the Mother of Science Fiction.  I ended up reading two serries: Talents and Tower and Hive. Damia made the New York Best Selling list. All of these books are in the top 150,000 book best sellers on Book Depository and are all still in print.

Talents Series

  1. To Ride Pegasus  (1973)
  2. Pegasus in Flight (1990)
  3. Pegaus in Space (2000)

To Ride Pegasus

  • Format Paperback | 288 pages 
  • Dimensions 110 x 178 x 17mm | 156g 
  • Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd 
  • Language English 
  • ISBN10 0552162809 
  • ISBN13 9780552162807  

From Book Depository: "They were people whose gifts were unique. For years - centuries - they had not even understood just what they could do with their minds. They had sometimes become astrologers, clairvoyants, or healers, but their Talents were undeveloped and untrained. Henry Darrow was the first to explore the huge wealth of psychic gifts hidden amongst mankind, and it was he who formed the first Parapsychic Centre where Talents could train and be used to revolutionise the world. But their powers set them apart, made them feared, then threatened by the un-Talented. And when dangerous freak 'wild' Talents began to wreak havoc in the outside world, it took all their combined Talented efforts to save themselves."

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this prequel to the Talent Series which I had read years and years ago.   

Pegasus in Flight

  • Format Paperback | 416 pages 
  • Dimensions 106 x 178 x 24mm | 213g 
  • Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd 
  • Language English 
  •  ISBN10 0552163767 
  • ISBN13 9780552163767  

From Book Depository "Earth was at bursting point, in spite of the birth restrictions of only one child to each couple. Extra children existed in a sub-cultured world or were rounded up into slavery. The only hope was the space platform -- the jumping-off point for the colonization of other worlds. But more Talents were needed to build and operate those platforms.

Rhyssa Owen was the one responsible, both for finding Talents and training them. And when she felt the first encroachment of a mind reaching out to her, she knew it was exceptional -- a fourteen-year-old boy with incredibly powerful kinetic ability. And in the seamy underworld of near-criminal children was another brilliant mind in danger from a ruthless group of child kidnappers.

Rhyssa knew she had to find the two children and train them for the survival of earth."

I need to find this book to read.  

 

Pegasus in Space

  • Format Paperback | 448 pages 
  • Dimensions 107 x 177 x 31mm | 227g 
  • Publisher Random House USA Inc 
  •  Language English Edition 
  • ISBN10 0345434676
  •  ISBN13 9780345434678

From Penguin "Peter Reidinger was the most brilliant and powerful telepath and telekinetic yet discovered on earth.He was also barely fifteen years old and a paraplegic who ‘moved’ his body through kinesis.When the telepaths of earth suspected a plot to take over Padrugoi, the newly manned space station, they realised they needed his unique gifts to foil the insane plans of Barchenka, the space construction manager, but even they didn’t realise how strong were his abilities to ‘read’ the minds of those about him and move heavy loads over vast distances.

As his career progressed, so his talents increased beyond the dreams of those trying to reach out into space.Peter Reidinger was going to be the salvation of man’s exploration of the stars.

And even as he became the most important man on earth, so his friendship with the tiny orphan girl found in the floods of Bangladesh grew and flourished.For Amariyah too had psychic gifts which no-one, at first, could define.But these ‘special’ people were constantly at risk – hated and feared by the avaricious, the evil and the ignorant, whose constant ambition was to destroy Peter Reidinger and those like him."

My thoughts: From it's opening page to the last page I could not put this book down.  I read it in one day.  I especially enjoyed understanding where the talent Primes came from as well as the faction that so heatedly resisted them.   

Tower and Hive Series

  1. The Rowan (1990)
  2. Damia (1991)
  3. Damia's Children (1993)
  4. Lyon's Pride  (1994)
  5. The Tower and The Hive (1999)

The Rowan

  • Format Paperback | 328 pages 
  • Dimensions 114 x 178 x 23.11mm | 159g 
  • Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc 
  • Language English Edition 
  • ISBN10 0441735762 
  • ISBN13 9780441735761

 From Penguin: "The Talents were the elite of the Nine Star League. Their gifts were many and varied, ranging from the gently telepathic, to the rare and extremely valued Primes. On the Primes rested the entire economic wealth and communications systems of the civilised worlds. But Primes were scarce - only very rarely was a new one born. And now, on the planet Altair, in a small mining colony on the western mountain range, a new Prime existed, a three-year-old girl - trapped in a giant mud slide that had wiped out the rest of the Rowan mining community. Every Altarian who was even mildly talented could 'hear' the child crying for help, but no one knew where she was buried. Every resource on the planet was centred into finding 'The Rowan' - the new Prime, the first ever to be born on Altair, an exceptionally unique Prime, more talented, more powerful, more agoraphobic, more lonely, than any other Prime yet known in the Nine Star league."

From Book Depository: "The Rowan was destined to become the greatest Prime Talent in human history, facing a lonely existence of servitude. Until she receives a telepathic plea from across the stars from a Prime named Jeff Raven-and falls in love with him." 

My Thoughts - Oh my this is the book that started my love affair with science fiction books.  It was so good to re-read and become reqqainted with old friends.  Anne McCaffrey has such a fabulous way of drawing you into the Talent universe and helping you to experience the depth of the characters and the bredth of the story.

Damia

  • Format Paperback | 341 pages 
  •  Dimensions 114 x 166 x 24mm | 172g 
  • Publication date 28 Feb 2012 
  • Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc 
  • Language English Edition 
  •  ISBN10 0441135560 
  • ISBN13 9780441135561 

From Book Depository - "Damia is the daughter of Prime Talents The Rowan and Jeff Raven. Her own telepathic and telekinetic abilities manifested at an early age, unimaginable powers even greater than her parents', challenging to wield much less control. As willful as her mother ever was, Damia defies her family's attempts to tame and train her--only to bond with Afra Lyon, a Talent who serves The Rowan, and who becomes the object of her affection. When she comes of age, Damia learns that a Prime of her capabilities and temperament has no time for love. Assigned to serve the farthest human colonized world from Earth, Damia leads a lonely existence until she telepathically connects with an alien presence in another galaxy--a potential threat not only to Damia, but to the love Afra wants to share with her..."

 From Penguin - "Of all the Rowan's children, Damia was the most brilliant, the most difficult, the loneliest, and the one who had inherited the greatest Talent. It was obvious from childhood that she was going to be a Prime, with all the honours, burdens and strains of that elite class. Her one friend was Afra -- older, wiser, Talented in his own way, but 'belonging' almost exclusively to the Rowan and the workings of Callisto Station.

As Damia grew up, her Talent became almost too strong to control, and the solution was separation -- from her parents, from Callisto, from her beloved Afra. Sent to the distant planet of Deneb, to her strange and gifted grandmother, Damia began the training necessary to turn her into a Prime of extraordinary gifts -- a Prime who could contact the minds of approaching aliens through space, some of whom threatened to totally destroy the worlds of the Nine Star League."

My Thoughts - This book had me sitting on the end of my chair in anticipation.  It was as good to read the second time as it had been the first time I read it nearly three decades ago.    

Damia's Children

  • Format Paperback | 325 pages 
  • Dimensions 107 x 173 x 29mm | 159g 
  • Publication date 29 May 2012 
  • Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc 
  • Language English Edition S
  •  ISBN10 044100007X 
  • ISBN13 9780441000074

 From Book Depository - "They inherited their mother's legendary powers of telepathy. But Damia's children will need more than psionic Talent to face the enemy's children--an alien race more insect than human..."

From Penguin - "A classic story from one of the masters of the genre

Damia and Afra-Raven-Lyon had reared their children in a brilliant and unorthodox way. All their young had been 'paired' when six months old with the furry, one-eyed Mrdinis, the only other sentient beings in the Alliance, who could communicate with humans by their 'dream messages'. Together, Man and Mrdini worked to create prosperous worlds and guard against the terrible threat of the annihilating Hivers.

And now, in the deeps of Space, Mrdini scouts had crossed the path of three Hive ships -- ships that were giant hulks of cell units, bearing the queens and workers out into space, to breed and multiply and destroy wherever they found a viable planet.

It was the four elder children of Damia -- Laria, Thian, Rojer and Zara -- all uniquely talented in their various ways, who were to play their part, helped by their life-long Dini friends, in the conquering and investigation of the Alien threat of the Hivers."

My Thoughts - I enjoyed seeing the love story of Damia and Afra grow and see how the Mrdini influence the track of the story of the Hive invaders.  Each of the characters are powerful in their own right. They challenge themselves and those around them to go deeper and stretch beyond comfort zones.  

Lyon's Pride 

  • Format Paperback | 352 pages 
  • Dimensions 110 x 178 x 22mm | 189g 
  • Publication date 01 May 2012 
  • Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd 
  • Language English 
  • ISBN10 0552167312 
  • ISBN13 9780552167314  

From Book Depository- "The survival technique of the Hivers was terrifying -- and brilliant. Their huge Sphere ships, controlled by the Many Mind of ten to sixteen queens, surged out into space. When an appropriate planet was found, the Hivers destroyed any and every variety of indigenous life, the queens propagated, and when the new world was full, more ships were sent out. the colonization was repeated until no planet, no species, least of all Man and Mrdini, was safe.

The furry and courageous Mrdini had fought the Hivers for centuries, many dying bravely in an attempt to save their own worlds. Now Mrdini and Man combined to form the Alliance -- and Humankind had their own weapons to offer -- the power and might of the Talents who could not only communicate silently with each other, but could project cargoes, ships and themselves across the deeps of space.

The four children of Damia -- Laria, Thian, Rojer and Zara -- were Primes amongst the Talents, and all their skills were desperately needed, for the Hivers' terrible Sphere ships were still thrusting through space, unfathomable, impenetrable, and carrying death in their labyrinthine depths."

My Thoughts - This one had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed the journeys of Damia and Afra's children and the expansion of the story.

The Tower and the Hive

  • Format Paperback | 315 pages 

    Dimensions 83 x 171 x 23.11mm | 159g 

    Publication date 25 May 2000 

    Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc 

    Language English 

    ISBN10 0441007201 

    ISBN13 9780441007202

From Penguin - Concluding her magnificent five-book sequence begun in The Rowan. In this, the fifth book in the Tower and the Hive series, the children of Damia and Afra Lyon take up new and demanding responsibilities - trying to discover the whereabouts of all the Hiver-occupied worlds. For the Hivers are still a terrible threat and can bring total annihilation to both humans and their furry allies the Mrdini unless the remaining Hiver Queens can be prevented from further colonization. And a startling additional problem has arisen with the Mrdini. No longer dying as drastically as they once had in their ceaseless struggle against the Hivers, they face a serious population explosion and need the help of the Medical Prime Zara Lyon.  

Whew if you made it to the end of that list I'm impressed.  Thank you for your patience in letting me share my binge read recently.  I'm quite happy now that I've caught up and can continue my 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.

What's on your reading pile ?



 



Saturday 6 February 2021

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer (5/52 Books in 52 Weeks)

 Week 5 of 52 Books in 52 Weeks. I almost missed the deadline to share my latest read with you.  Jeffrey Archer is one of those authors not to miss.  The very first book I read from this author was Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.  A brilliant tale.

This week I have chosen to revist another favourite from his pen: False Impression.  I had forgotten just how much every little detail is important when reading his stories.


False Impression

  • Format Paperback | 538 pages 
  • Dimensions 104 x 191 x 36mm | 295g 
  • Publisher St Martin's Press 
  • Language English 
  • ISBN10 0312939779 
  • ISBN13 9780312939779 

From Book Depository: "Why was an elegant lady BRUTALLY MURDERED the night before 9/11? Why was a successful New York banker not surprised to receive A WOMAN'S LEFT EAR in the mail? Why did a young woman with a brilliant career steal an IMPRESSIONIST PAINTING? Why was an honors graduate working as a temporary secretary after INHERITING A FORTUNE? Why was a SENIOR FBI AGENT trying to work out the connection between these four apparently innocent individuals? A breathtaking journey of twists and turns from New York to London, from Bucharest and on to Tokyo ends up in a sleepy English village where the mystery surrounding Van Gogh's last painting will finally be resolved."

This book is a sit on the edge of your seat masterpiece.  A fully engrossing tale of the missing masterpiece Van Gogh's Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear.  Each twist and turn is full of heart stopping close calls and threads of complexity to rival the best. False Impressin will have you dashing accross the world from New York to London, Hong Kong to Bucharest and back again. Join FBI agent Jack as he tries to unravel the mystery before him.

 

Tuesday 26 January 2021

The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert (4/52 Books in 52 Weeks)

It's week four of 52 Books in 52 Weeks. This weeks reading adventure took me back to the land of my birth South Africa although the story begins in Europe.  I spent a delightful few days immersed in World War II in Germany, Poland and South Africa reading The Girl From the Train (not to be confused with the popular mainstream novel The Girl on the Train)

The Girl From the Train

  • Format Paperback | 384 pages 
  • Dimensions 138 x 214 x 22mm | 362g 
  • Publisher Thomas Nelson Publishers 
  • Language English 
  • ISBN10: 0529102374 
  • ISBN13: 9780529102379 
  • Available as a paperback and audio book.

The Girl From the Train was originally published in Afrikaans under the title Tussen Stasies (I really wish they had kept the direct translation for the title - Between Stations.) 

Irma takes us on a journey of discovery, illustrating the effects of the war in the lives of children. The story is a beutiful illustration of how unconditional love can impact and redeem the sadest of experiences and change lives for the better.

The story opens near the end of World War II in southern Poland in April 1944 with a family desperate to save their children from the horrors of Aushwitz.  We meet Gretl Schmidt on a train bound for Aushwitz..., and Jakob Kowalski who is fighting witht the Polish resistance and is planting a bomb on the tracks.

Gretl escapes the train and by a series of events meets Jakob who takes her to his family farm to be cared for and thius begins the journey of two lives that become entertwined, spanning 15 years and two continents.  

Gretl is adopted by a family in South Africa where she lives with her secrets and grows up with a family who loves her deeply as thought she were born into their arms.  

Jakob stays in Poland.  Through the years they each are followed by the echo of the other clinging to the momories until due to circumstances the improbable happens. 

From Book Depositiory: "Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Aushwitz. Jakob Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks.

As World War II draws to a close, Jakob fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl's unscheduled train reaches the bomb first.

Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakob discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family.

But she can't stay with him forever. Jakob sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families-so long as Gretl's Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.

Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakob and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome. "


 The Author - Irma Jouber

  •  International bestselling author
  • She was a history teacher for 35 years before she began her writing career.
  • Writes in her native language of Afrikaans.
  • The Girl from the Train is her first novel to be translated into english.
  • She won the 2010 ATKV Prize for Romance Novels.
  • Connect with her on Facebook here.

I discovered that  The Girl From the Train is book two in the first trilogy from this author.  I am keen to read the other two books. It seems I may need to brush up on my Afrikaans reading in order to read them.

Books by this author

  • 1. Veilige hawe
  • 2. Tuiskoms (a collection of short stories)
  • 3. Verbode Drif (a historical novel, spanning 1903–1910)

First trilogy:

  • 4. Ver wink die Suiderkruis (set in 1932–1933)
  • 5. Tussen stasies (The Girl From the Train )(spanning World War II to 1958)
  • 6. Tolbos (set in 1976–1989)

Second trilogy:

  • 7. Anderkant Pontenilo (historical novel spanning 1938 - 1945)
  • 8. Pérsomi, kind van die brakrant  (Child of the River) (1938–1968)
  • 9. Kronkelpad (The Crooked Path) (1938–1983)

Third trilogy (in progress):

  • 10. Immer wes (a historical novel spanning 1905–1947)
  • 11. Mentje - Kind van die Pas-Opkamp (a historical novel)

Who are some of your favourite historical authors?



Tuesday 19 January 2021

The Good Master by Kate Seredy (3/52 Books in 52 Weeks)

 One of the reasons I enjoy home educating using Sonlight is their selection of twaddle free books.  This year Nathaniel has 12 weeks left of World History Year 2 of 2. I had a lot of good intentions to read with Nathaniel during 2020 but alas life happened and I did not keep up.  I decided the best way to catch up was to add some of his books to my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge for 2021. This week I chose to read The Good Master by Kate Seredy.  

The Good Master

  • Format Paperback | 192 pages 
  • Dimensions 130 x 198 x 14mm | 162g 
  • Publisher Penguin Books Australia 
  • Language English Edition 
  • ISBN10 - 014030133X 
  • ISBN13 - 9780140301335 
  • Puffin Newberry Library

From Book Depositiory: "No child should miss out on the adventures of headstrong Kate, a girl from Budapest who spends summers with her cousin Jancsi on his father's ranch in Hungary. Horseback races across the plains, country fairs and festivals, a dangerous run-in with gypsies, and the chores and the joys -- and the colorful cultural trappings -- of daily life in pre-war Europe create a vivid, unforgettable world."

I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed this historical novel.  Headstrong Kate (Seredy herself) is not at all what Jancsi or his family expected. She is sent to live with her cousin Jancsi and Uncle Nagy on their family farm on the Hungarian plains. Uncle Nagy is known by all as "The Good Master" for his wise and gentle ways.  Kate is soon caught up in the daily life of the farm and soon opens the eyes of those around her to the wonders all around them that they take for granted. She soon calms down and develops a sounder set of values.

This books captures you with is vividly detailed scenes and beautiful illustrations by the author.   You will read about the history and stories of the people of Hungary through the people who touch their lives.

The sequel is The Singing Tree which takes Kate and the family through World War I, when Jancsi's father must join the army and he is left in charge of the ranch, which becomes a refuge for family, neightbors and war orphans.

 Author - Kate Seredy

  • 10 November 1899 to 7 March 1975
  • Born in Budapest Hungry
  • Immigrated to the USA 1922
  • Study at Academy of Art in Budapest for six years.
  • Earned a living illustrating lampshades, greeting cards and sheet music.
  • Illustrated for other authors including Caddie Woodlawn 
  • Illustrated her own books.
  • The Good Master is her first and most popular book.
  • She wrote several books which are still in print and available for purchase on Book Depository.

Do you have any historical novels you enjoy?

Linking with BW3 on Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Wednesday 13 January 2021

Joseph Dreamer of Dreams by E. Traylor (2/52 Books in 52 Weeks)

Welcome to week two of 52 Books in 52 Weeks. This week I chose a biblical novel to enjoy.  I first encountered the author when I was in high school.  I read Samson which opened my eyes and heart to the reality of scripture and I began to realise just how real each of the people in the bible stories really were.  Years later I found a fabulous christian bookshop in Christchurch (Christian Value Books) and encountered books by Ellen Gunderson Traylor and began collecting her novels. 

Joseph Dreamer of Dreams

  • Format Paperback | 247 pages 
  • Publisher Harvest House Publishers 
  • Language English 
  • ISBN10 0890816999 
  • ISBN13 9780890816998  

I really enjoyed reading this book again. JOSEPH is a story of politics, passion and a peculiar example of GOD at work in the lives of men and women.

The Author


 Who are some of your favourite biblical story tellers?  I have three or four more on my shelf I am aiming to read later this year.