Finished!

I have completed the new (and last) Harry Potter book as well as my June read, In Gallant Company. The HP book was wonderful, I thought, and ended in just the right way. It was intense (with lots of good people dying) but just right. Rowling made me happy. I would have sent her a really nasty note if it had not ended in the way it did.

As for my July read, it wasn't the greatest story, but it did make me think about the Revolutionary War that was also being fought on the ocean--something we don't often hear much of--and how in many respects it was a civil war. English and "Americans"--former English--fighting one another. That must have been as difficult as it was in the Civil War. I often think of our relative on the Andersen side of the family who fought for the Confederacy while some of his other family members supported the Union. Very sad indeed. We owe them so much!

2 Booky Items

The link below will take you to a fine article on the Harry Potter phenom. It tells of a literary critic's Down Syndrome boy and how the HP books helped him progress in his limited understanding. I thought it worth sharing:

www.thecommonreview.org/fileadmin/template/tcr/pdf/berube61.pdf

(or go to www.thecommonreview.org and scroll down until you see the article mentioned)

Abby, I noticed on your personal blog that one of the books you have on your list to read soon is The Historian. I just started it this week. I read Dracula just a year ago or so and purchased Historian in an airport. It was put on a bookshelf and forgotten about. Then, while packing up some books, I found it and decided now was as good a time as any to read it. Had I been really on the ball, I would have remembered that Harry Potter #7 is coming out Saturday and I have first dibs on it in our house. I guess I'll be reading a lot this next week. Plus, I am finishing up my read for our book group!

Anyway, so far the book is great! I am really enjoying its tone. Dracula was just creepy enough to keep me from reading it for many years. This one has that same feel to it. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Happy reading!

THANK YOU!!

Rae, thank you for those links!! I am LOVING that first one....I've been needing/looking for something like that for what seems like forever. By the way, thanks for your sweet comment on my blog photos.

I'm really loving this blog of ours. I feel more connected to all of you, but it's especially sweet to be "more connected" to my aunties. I love that we all have in common the love of words, and the love of good books.

Loving all of you

Lulu

Listed below...

...are two of my favorite web sources for both booklists and author lists. The Fantastic Fiction site is great if you know the author's name and want to see everything they have written (really good if you are trying to read all books of a certain author). It also keeps one appraised of new stuff coming out. The Waterboro site is a compendium of hundreds of booklists by subject. It's just plain fun when you don't know what you want!


http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

www.waterborolibrary.org/bklista.htm


Happy reading!

A link for Abby

http://www.usd320.k12.ks.us/whs/lmc/historicalam.html#Colonial%20and%20Revolutionary%20Days

Maybe that will help you, Abby? Just a list I found....I'm with you. I like historical fiction better when I'm not constantly guessing how much of the main character is truth or fiction. I liked the book Lyddie [by Katherine Paterson], which was historical fiction--but that was set in the time of....what was it....the industrial revolution. So a little late if you're looking for something more July-read-specific.

I've read Dragonwyck, too. I love that book!!

Lulu

Re historical fiction

Abby's post addresses a quite controversial aspect of historical fiction--can we fairly portray "real" people in fiction? I recently read an essay on that very subject. The authors of the essay were trying to define the genre of historical fiction. The consensus was that if the author used fictional characters within a specific historical setting, it was ok. Even if there were actual historical figures in the background, it was ok. What was not ok was taking a historical figure and making them fictional and the main character as well. I don't know that I totally agree with that definition. But it's a real issue in some academic reading circles.

I also love historical fiction and I have the same problem as Abby. I prefer the setting to be historical with fictional characters. I don't mind a reference or two to actual figures, but I dislike it when an author "fictionalizes" an actual person. But I have also read some wonderful fiction books about real people. I think it really depends on the author and his/her ability to pay respect to the historical character.

I remember reading a book on Sacagawea when I was in high school. I felt like I had to finish it (and it was a FAT book) because it was a borrowed book and the lender wanted to talk about it after I read it. I hated that book! The author had made Sacagawea into a contemporary character and even included smut scenes for her. Lewis and Clark are heroes of mine and I know quite a lot about their trek, so that particular book was painful to read. I felt like the book did them all a disservice.

I'm really glad that you are thinking hard about this choice. I thought I had made it easy for everyone by simply selecting a historical setting. But one of the reasons I wanted to do the blog in the first place was to make the selection process as intriguing as the reading. So many people don't know how to select a book!

Have you ever read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes? I love that book! It's one that slips by many people but is on almost all the grade school reading lists. It should be easy to find and is a quick read. You might also check out the author Ann Rinaldi. She writes historical fiction for older teens. Her books are often about real people, but she writes so well that it doesn't bother me. She has written several within the selected time frame, including one about Paul Revere's daughter.

Have fun in your searching and as always, happy reading!

Unsure of book choice...

Okay, I don't really want to read Witnesses anymore and am wondering just what to read. The writing so far (and I'm not very far) is just really "trite-ish" (is that a word?). It doesn't help that I just finished reading Dragonwyck and really enjoyed it.

I'm also realizing that I love historical fiction -- but I love it best when the main character is fictional. Make sense? I just don't like wondering all the way through the novel, how much of this is true? Whereas with a fictional character, none of the character's life is true but the events can be true. I think I could do a real-life character in a fiction book if I already knew a lot about that person. Maybe I'll have to revisit Witnesses after reading more about Anne Hutchinson.

For now, if I have time before/after/in-between Mom/Mim reading The Winthrop Woman, I might read that (although that's about Elizabeth Winthrop...a real-life woman).

Based on what I've mentioned -- does anyone have any other book ideas that would fit the time period?