People are always in need of good books to read, and I read a few books... so I thought it would be fun to have book reviews on my blog. I've had plenty of time to read while at the beach this week and consequently I have finished the two books I brought with to read.
1. March by Geraldine Brooks. The book follows the life of Mr. March from Louisa May Alcott's book Little Women. It seems strange to me even after reading the whole book and the afterward that Brooks would choose to write her novel about a character from another book, but that aside, this is a really good book. Be warned I found the first chapter really difficult to wade through (it recounts the action of a Civil War battle) but the books definitely picks up after that and is great then until the end. Brooks is really good at making you feel as though you are living in the 19th century, and she thoroughly researches her books (which is really important to me). This book won the Pulitzer Prize, and after finishing it, I know why. We are reading it for book club this month, and there are a number of interesting topics to explore in the book, which should make for great discussion. The book deals heavily with the issues surrounding slavery, and if we had more time in the year, I would suggest that my students read it as well as it goes along really well with our study of American history. Men and women could enjoy this book. I have also read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which is a really interesting story of a Medieval Jewish Illustrated Bible's journey through time.
2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. After having watched the new movie last month, I wanted to read the original works by Carroll to see what parts were inspired by the books. I was fascinated in particular with the idea of the calendar that changes and the idea of the event day they are all waiting for where Alice defeats the Jabberwocky. Well, that must be in Through the Looking Glass, because that and the twins Dee and Dum were missing from this book, although there were certain scenes from Alice that were brought to life in the movie. I borrowed this book from the school's library a few weeks ago and had started reading the first few chapters. At the time I felt distracted while reading, and so today when I picked up the book again, I thought I would just start over, and maybe it would make more sense. Because the first time through I was just really confused. Well, I made myself focus and I started reading again, and this time I finished the whole book, and I can tell you I am just as confused as before. That being said I am glad I read it, as it is a classic, but there are parts which are just plain weird and confusing. No wonder the movie was a little hard to follow. The cool part was that at the beginning he describes a meadow where Alice is playing, and as I went to Oxford last summer and took a boat ride through the meadow where Carroll wrote the book, I could easily picture this meadow in my mind.
1. March by Geraldine Brooks. The book follows the life of Mr. March from Louisa May Alcott's book Little Women. It seems strange to me even after reading the whole book and the afterward that Brooks would choose to write her novel about a character from another book, but that aside, this is a really good book. Be warned I found the first chapter really difficult to wade through (it recounts the action of a Civil War battle) but the books definitely picks up after that and is great then until the end. Brooks is really good at making you feel as though you are living in the 19th century, and she thoroughly researches her books (which is really important to me). This book won the Pulitzer Prize, and after finishing it, I know why. We are reading it for book club this month, and there are a number of interesting topics to explore in the book, which should make for great discussion. The book deals heavily with the issues surrounding slavery, and if we had more time in the year, I would suggest that my students read it as well as it goes along really well with our study of American history. Men and women could enjoy this book. I have also read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which is a really interesting story of a Medieval Jewish Illustrated Bible's journey through time.
2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. After having watched the new movie last month, I wanted to read the original works by Carroll to see what parts were inspired by the books. I was fascinated in particular with the idea of the calendar that changes and the idea of the event day they are all waiting for where Alice defeats the Jabberwocky. Well, that must be in Through the Looking Glass, because that and the twins Dee and Dum were missing from this book, although there were certain scenes from Alice that were brought to life in the movie. I borrowed this book from the school's library a few weeks ago and had started reading the first few chapters. At the time I felt distracted while reading, and so today when I picked up the book again, I thought I would just start over, and maybe it would make more sense. Because the first time through I was just really confused. Well, I made myself focus and I started reading again, and this time I finished the whole book, and I can tell you I am just as confused as before. That being said I am glad I read it, as it is a classic, but there are parts which are just plain weird and confusing. No wonder the movie was a little hard to follow. The cool part was that at the beginning he describes a meadow where Alice is playing, and as I went to Oxford last summer and took a boat ride through the meadow where Carroll wrote the book, I could easily picture this meadow in my mind.
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