I have two very different responses to this book: my immediate emotional response and my later critical response.
1: I loved every page and was post-it noting (could we please make that a verb?) way more than I anticipated. It made me want to run better and have more fun with it. It made me re-think why I run. It made me LOVE the fact that there are people in the world who just...who just run. And it was SO much more than a running book. It was a fascinating anthropologic study, it was insightful into the human spirit, and it was very journalistic, which is exactly what a book about running should be. There were no long-winded technical chapters describing the mechanics of running, or perhaps there were but they were so well disguised by fantastic writing that I didn't even notice. Just fabulous.
Then, I thought more about it, and here is what I have determined:
2: While the book is inspiring, interesting, and really a delicious read, there were a lot of characters, a lack of continuity and maybe a bit too much anti-shoe preaching for a non-runner. There were a few spots where I felt the need to follow up on the research because it seemed a bit far-fetched/colored to fit the belief system of the writer.
So, depending on if you'd like to wear your happy pants or grumpy pants during a read of this book, there you go. Two pair of pants.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
March...April...Spring Books
Hello all-
As most of you know, the three of us who run this little book club are either in graduate school or have a husband in graduate school and have two little boys to run after. This means that this time of year is borderline insane. Hence, the lack of posts on our March book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall and why our April book is yet unannounced.
So here's the plan - we're overlapping books because that's our prerogative. We will continue reading "Born to Run" and would love to hear your thoughts as they come (whether you're finished or not). We will also begin discussing Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" which will serve as our April/May book (since classics take a bit longer to get through). Whether you've read "Jane Eyre" every year since you were twelve or whether you are taking on "Jane Eyre" for the first time, we want to hear what you have to say.
I personally am on a mission to get through "Jane Eyre" as soon as possible because I really want to see the movie, but not until I've read the book. Other another literary movie note, "Water for Elephants" comes out in just over two weeks on April 22nd. Call it blasphemy or uncultured tastes, but I think the movie will be better than the book.
Happy reading, happy movie watching, happy running, happy spring, and everything in-between!
--Jaclyn
As most of you know, the three of us who run this little book club are either in graduate school or have a husband in graduate school and have two little boys to run after. This means that this time of year is borderline insane. Hence, the lack of posts on our March book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall and why our April book is yet unannounced.
So here's the plan - we're overlapping books because that's our prerogative. We will continue reading "Born to Run" and would love to hear your thoughts as they come (whether you're finished or not). We will also begin discussing Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" which will serve as our April/May book (since classics take a bit longer to get through). Whether you've read "Jane Eyre" every year since you were twelve or whether you are taking on "Jane Eyre" for the first time, we want to hear what you have to say.
I personally am on a mission to get through "Jane Eyre" as soon as possible because I really want to see the movie, but not until I've read the book. Other another literary movie note, "Water for Elephants" comes out in just over two weeks on April 22nd. Call it blasphemy or uncultured tastes, but I think the movie will be better than the book.
Happy reading, happy movie watching, happy running, happy spring, and everything in-between!
--Jaclyn
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Meg's take on Wednesday Wars
Always the last to the table. I just finished Wednesday Wars last night, and let me just say, I loved it. I didn't think I did until I was halfway done. I didn't want to surrender my critical observations of how unrealistic I felt this 7th grade boy was, but in the end, I gave in. Holling may have been a bit more introspective than what I assume the 7th grade species to be, but in a time like his, perhaps that was required for kids of all ages. Can you imagine trying to make sense of assassinations, a senseless war, and the atomic bomb issue looming over you every day? And where better to look than Shakespeare? (which, by the way, was my absolute favorite part...I want to be Mrs. Baker. I love how Holling says that perhaps he really believed that all Mrs. Baker had ever done was sit behind her desk...So funny.)
I thought the way he described his parents' marriage falling apart was interesting. About how it doesn't all end at once, and it is the little things that start to go. A very observant 7th grader, I would say.
I loved the running part: a perfect segue into our next book.
And here's my favorite...a definitive description of the complete non-definition of the world:
That’s the way it is in the real world.
It’s not always smiles. Sometimes the real world is like Hamlet. A little scared. Unsure. A little angry. Wishing that you could fix something that you can’t fix. Hoping that maybe something would fix itself, but thinking that hoping that way is stupid.
And sometimes the real world is more like Bobby Kennedy, who was a sure bet for the Democratic nomination and probably would have been president of the United States and stopped the war, but who got shot at point-blank range.
I thought the way he described his parents' marriage falling apart was interesting. About how it doesn't all end at once, and it is the little things that start to go. A very observant 7th grader, I would say.
I loved the running part: a perfect segue into our next book.
And here's my favorite...a definitive description of the complete non-definition of the world:
That’s the way it is in the real world.
It’s not always smiles. Sometimes the real world is like Hamlet. A little scared. Unsure. A little angry. Wishing that you could fix something that you can’t fix. Hoping that maybe something would fix itself, but thinking that hoping that way is stupid.
And sometimes the real world is more like Bobby Kennedy, who was a sure bet for the Democratic nomination and probably would have been president of the United States and stopped the war, but who got shot at point-blank range.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Changing our perspective-Anna's Wednesday thoughts
I loved the scene from Wednesday Wars when Mrs. Baker took Holling on a drive to see all of the buildings in his town. She explained to him the significance behind them, and then Holling thinks the following,
"On a bright blue day when there wasn't an atomic bomb on any horizon, when the high clouds were painted onto blue canvas, when tulips were standing at attention and azaleas were blooming (except for the ones in front of the Perfect House) and dogs were barking at all the new smells, I saw my town as if I had just arrived. It was as if I was waking up. You see houses and buildings every day, and you walk by them on your way to something else, and you hardly see. You hardly notice they're even there, mostly because there's something else going on right in front of your face. But when the town itself becomes the thing that is going on right in front of your face, it all changes, and you're not just looking at a house but at what's happened in that house before you were born. That afternoon, driving with Mrs. Baker, the American Revolution was here. The escaped slaves were here. The abolitionists were here.
And I was here." ( p.222-223)
How do you think we can look at our individual circumstances "as if we had just arrived"? How can we look at the people around us in that light? Could they be the "houses" that Holling was talking about? I think so.
I heard a lady from my ward speak in Stake Conference tonight. I have always thought she was just an awesome example of someone who quietly serves. She's not the Relief Society president, she doesn't really talk that much. She sits quietly, but loves openly. She is always the first one to sign up when we need a volunteer to help clean the building, or when someone needs a meal. I found out tonight as she shared her testimony that she had a son die of leukemia a few years back. I had no idea. I already thought highly of her, but somehow knowing that little tidbit of information, my heart opened to her even more. My love and admiration for her faith and quiet service increased.
One of the ways Mrs. Baker helps Holling open his eyes in this scene is that she goes against the grain. Mrs. Baker, who always seems to be following the rules, breaks them. She keeps Holling working every Wednesday, when all of the other classmates are gone. There seems to be no relief. But here they were, supposed to be having another bomb drill, and she busts him out of school! This must have caught Holling off-guard and he realized there might be something important about their little jaunt.
I think if we are to see people and situations "as if [we] had just arrived" we have to step out of our own lives and sometimes even break the rules. Do things we wouldn't normally do. Be brave, and bold! Who knows what we might find.
What do you think?
"On a bright blue day when there wasn't an atomic bomb on any horizon, when the high clouds were painted onto blue canvas, when tulips were standing at attention and azaleas were blooming (except for the ones in front of the Perfect House) and dogs were barking at all the new smells, I saw my town as if I had just arrived. It was as if I was waking up. You see houses and buildings every day, and you walk by them on your way to something else, and you hardly see. You hardly notice they're even there, mostly because there's something else going on right in front of your face. But when the town itself becomes the thing that is going on right in front of your face, it all changes, and you're not just looking at a house but at what's happened in that house before you were born. That afternoon, driving with Mrs. Baker, the American Revolution was here. The escaped slaves were here. The abolitionists were here.
And I was here." ( p.222-223)
How do you think we can look at our individual circumstances "as if we had just arrived"? How can we look at the people around us in that light? Could they be the "houses" that Holling was talking about? I think so.
I heard a lady from my ward speak in Stake Conference tonight. I have always thought she was just an awesome example of someone who quietly serves. She's not the Relief Society president, she doesn't really talk that much. She sits quietly, but loves openly. She is always the first one to sign up when we need a volunteer to help clean the building, or when someone needs a meal. I found out tonight as she shared her testimony that she had a son die of leukemia a few years back. I had no idea. I already thought highly of her, but somehow knowing that little tidbit of information, my heart opened to her even more. My love and admiration for her faith and quiet service increased.
One of the ways Mrs. Baker helps Holling open his eyes in this scene is that she goes against the grain. Mrs. Baker, who always seems to be following the rules, breaks them. She keeps Holling working every Wednesday, when all of the other classmates are gone. There seems to be no relief. But here they were, supposed to be having another bomb drill, and she busts him out of school! This must have caught Holling off-guard and he realized there might be something important about their little jaunt.
I think if we are to see people and situations "as if [we] had just arrived" we have to step out of our own lives and sometimes even break the rules. Do things we wouldn't normally do. Be brave, and bold! Who knows what we might find.
What do you think?
Jaclyn's "Wednesday Wars" Review
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. SchmidtMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have been exceptionally tired, and so I have put off reviewing "The Wednesday Wars" though I could not stop talking about it while I was reading it and the days after I finished it. This book, despite its detailed depiction of rats running around in the classroom ceiling, was wonderful. I love that it took place in 1967-1968. I love the political and social references, and the wording used to characterize the main character Holling Hoodhood's (yes, Hoodhood really is his last name) teacher Mrs. Baker. I love the Shakespeare references and how well Schmidt captured the simple desires a seventh grader has for validation and acceptance.
This is simply a story of a seventh grader named Holling who doesn't quite fit in (in all honesty, what seventh grader ever feels like he/she fits in?) and his path to figuring out his worth over the course of a school year. Throw in Mickey Mantle, Vietnam, an unrelenting father, Catholics, Jews, and cream puffs, and you have "The Wednesday Wars."
I'm not sure a middle schooler (the intended audience) would love this book as much as adult, but I think they would enjoy it - perhaps for different reasons than an adult would. Teachers, especially, would enjoy this book - we can't help but love well-written characterizations of ourselves.
As for being a Newberry Honor Book, I am glad to report, that Schmidt's "Wednesday Wars" is very deserving. Happy reading!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
March Book: Born to Run
As soon as I hear the words "Born to Run" I start humming Bruce Springsteen. This month though we're taking on a different "Born to Run" - we're reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.
This book is a total departure from anything we have read previously, but it should be an entertaining and eye-opening read. I promise that this is not a book only runners or athletes would enjoy because as anyone who knows we well knows, I am definitely not a runner. I don't understand running when there is no ball to chase.
--Jaclyn
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A kid's book?
Don't get me wrong, I loved The Wednesday Wars. I'm just wondering if a middle schooler would also love this book. A twelve-year-old would miss most of the 1960s references and most likely, would miss the Shakespeare references unless he/she had previous exposure. Is the story of a struggling kid enough to compel someone young through the story? Just wondering what you think.
-Jaclyn
ps. I am a huge fan of Mrs. Baker.
pps. I loathe Mr. Hoodhood.
ppps. I double heart you.
pppps. This is what my notes to my friends in seventh grade looked like...why didn't I include the contents of the post-scripts in the body of the letter?!
-Jaclyn
ps. I am a huge fan of Mrs. Baker.
pps. I loathe Mr. Hoodhood.
ppps. I double heart you.
pppps. This is what my notes to my friends in seventh grade looked like...why didn't I include the contents of the post-scripts in the body of the letter?!
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