Publisher: Penguin Press Page Count: 237 Nonfiction Genre: Autobiography, Memoir, Parenting, Cultural Dates Read: December 31, 2015 - January 16, 2016 Reading Challenge: RL Book Club Topic: AH Pick Series: N/A Good Reads Summary An awe-inspiring, often hilarious, and unerringly honest story of one mother's exercise in extreme parenting, revealing the rewards - and the costs - of raising her children the Chinese way. All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence.Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choice inspires. Review Before I get too far into this review, I want to throw out the disclaimer in my life that at this point, I have zero intentions of being a parent. I love children, and have enjoyed the many years I have spent as a nanny. I absolutely adore my friend's children and my nephew, but I am not certain that motherhood is my shtick. All that being said, there were many things I appreciated about Chua's approach to parenting. I cannot say her approach was the best, or even right. However, I cannot say it is wrong either. There were times I found myself cringing at her interactions with her youngest daughter and their constant headbutting. I appreciated how much she focused on her daughter's success in academics and extra-circulars, but was disheartened to see her not put as much emphasis on her daughters social development. I can respect her expecting the best out of her daughters, even in simple things as making birthday cards, but struggle to support her decision to publicly tear her daughter apart when said birthday card is not up to her standard. Chua gave us an interesting contrast of the American ideal of child care to that of traditional Asian child. Our cultures have a lot of different values and focuses, and Chua shows us how deep the difference are, as Americans focus on sportsmanship and the "everyone is a special snowflake" mentality, whereas Asians focus on academics, cultural appreciation, and always being at the top of your game/class. I greatly respect Chua and her book, even when I don't agree with her, because she has given me a different approach and way of looking at raising a child. No way is perfect. No culture has perfected the best way, bet each culture has found a way that works for them. Even within each culture there is a shifting paradigm of differences that are ever changing. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 9 Pace - 6 Plot Development - 6 Characters - 7 Enjoyability - 7 Insightfulness - 9 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - 5 Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars
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Publisher: Bantam Page Count: 182 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Short Stories, Classic Dates Read: January 12, 2016 Reading Challenge: 2016 Reading Challenge Topic: A book title that begins with the same letter as your first name; "M". Series: N/A Good Reads Summary The strange and wonderful tale of man’s experiences on Mars, filled with intense images and astonishing visions. Now part of the Voyager Classics collection. The Martian Chronicles tells the story of humanity’s repeated attempts to colonize the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease they called the Great Loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a fist. They felt they had never been born. Those few that survived found no welcome on Mars. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up. But more rockets arrived from Earth, and more, piercing the hallucinations projected by the Martians. People brought their old prejudices with them – and their desires and fantasies, tainted dreams. These were soon inhabited by the strange native beings, with their caged flowers and birds of flame. Contents: Rocket Summer Ylla The Summer Night The Earth Men The Taxpayer The Third Expedition -And the Moon Be Still As Bright The Settlers The Green Morning The Locusts Night Meeting The Shore Interim The Musicians Way in the Middle of the Air The Naming of Names Usher II The Old Ones The Martian The Luggage Store The Off Season The Watchers The Silent Towns The Long Years There Will Come Soft Rains The Million Year Picnic Review Wow! This was amazing! Bradbury wrote a series of short stories that were connected, yet not connected. I don't know how to fully explain it, except that it was wonderful. Bradbury perfectly puts us in the place of what it might be like to be a stranger arriving on a distant planet, only to be greeted with fear and uncertainty by its natural inhabitants. He also puts us in their shoes and what their lives might be like. Described with brilliant imagery and outstanding narratives, The Martian Chronicles is by far one of the greatest Sci-Fi masterpieces to ever grace our bookshelves. A true classic. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 9 Pace - 7 Plot Development - 8 Characters - 9 Enjoyability - 9 Insightfulness - 8 Ease of Reading - 8 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Anchor Books Page Count: 311 Fiction Genre: Classic, Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Feminism, Fantasy Dates Read: January 7-11, 2016 Reading Challenge: 2016 Topic Discard Challenge Topic: A book banned in your country Series: N/A Good Reads Summary Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now. Review This is just crazy! It's crazy because in some conservative corner of Texas (or any part of the southern U.S.), I could actually see this being the future. It terrifies me. The amount of people (mostly men) who want to regulate a woman's body is something that is easy to overlook on a daily basis. When an author creates an entire dystopian society based around this idea, it is difficult not to see how easily regulations can get out of hand. Atwood perfectly creates a world of fear within the reader; a world without the basic privileges we know. She creates strong characters that stay with the read long after the page has been closed. The one critique I have about the book is that the pacing was a little slow for my taste. The story seemed to drag on, but it was a good story. it reminded me of reading a really great classic. You can't speed through it, but you know it's worth it in the end. Though I have a lot of praise for this book, one thing this book makes me wonder about is Atwood's feelings toward men as a whole. Atwood, as an author seems to have a lot of strong negative feelings towards the male population, and it comes out strongly in her writing. I do not know if this is a factual thing, or just a weird vibe I was getting as I was reading this book. These strong feelings did not distract from the quality of the story, at least not for me, but it is something I wonder about. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 9 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 8 Enjoyability - 7 Insightfulness - 8 Ease of Reading - 7 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars Publisher: Philomel Books
Page Count: 36 (each) Fiction Genre: Children, Picture, Humor, Art, Fantasy Dates Read: January 11, 2016 Reading Challenge: Mega Challenge & Choices Challenge Topic: A picture book & a book from the 2015 GR Choice Award picture book category Series: Crayons, 1 & 2 Good Reads Summary The Day The Crayons Quit: Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown. Blue needs a break from coloring all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other. What is Duncan to do? Debut author Drew Daywalt and New York Times bestseller Oliver Jeffers create a colorful solution in this playful, imaginative story that will have children laughing and playing with their crayons in a whole new way. The Day The Crayons Came Home: I'm not sure what it is about this kid Duncan, but his crayons sure are a colorful bunch of characters! Having soothed the hurt feelings of one group who threatened to quit, Duncan now faces a whole new group of crayons asking to be rescued. From Maroon Crayon, who was lost beneath the sofa cushions and then broken in two after Dad sat on him; to poor Turquoise, whose head is now stuck to one of Duncan's stinky socks after they both ended up in the dryer together; to Pea Green, who knows darn well that no kid likes peas and who ran away—each and every crayon has a woeful tale to tell and a plea to be brought home to the crayon box. Review The Day The Crayons Quit is a delightfully beautiful and hilarious children's book. It's original and quirky. Even as an adult, without children, I loved reading this. I bought a copy for my nephew to read to him at least. There are a lot of silly reasons the crayons quit and why they bicker with each other, but it's brilliant. The illustrations are masterfully done in what looks like a young child's hand. The Day The Crayon's Came Home was not as entertaining for me. It just felt redundant. Little kids like redundancy, right?. I found myself wondering how many times Daywalt could reword the same story for a different color of crayon. Still wonderful drawings throughout the book, but the story just wasn't as great or as funny. I did not buy this one for my nephew, because he doesn't need that kind of negativity in his young life. I highly recommend The Day The Crayons Quit, but say hard pass on The Day The Crayons Came Home. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 6 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 6 Characters - 5 Enjoyability - 7 Insightfulness - 5 Ease of Reading - 9 Photos/Illustrations - 8 Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars & 2 out of 5 stars Publisher: Quirk Books Page Count: 428 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, YA, Paranormal, Horror Dates Read: January 6, 2016 Reading Challenge: 2016 Reading Challenge Topic: A book set in a different continent Series: Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, 2 Good Reads Summary This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises. Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages. Review What did I read? What was this? It seems like the publishers at Quirk were desperate for a series and they told Riggs, "We don't care what you put on the pages, just give us something". I found some mild amusement in the first book in the serious, but found it to be mildly condescending and overly predictable. It's like Riggs found a lot of old photos at a garage sale one day, came home, threw them on his kitchen table and wondered how he could create a story around them. The photos create a nice niche, but don't allow for a firm story. This problem continues, if not, gets worse, in the second book. My largest problem with this book might be my age. It's very possible that if I were a 13 year old girl, I would love this story. However, in my 20s, I feel like my brain was rotting as I was reading it. It was like one of the brain slugs from Futurama jumped onto my head and took control. I could not relate to any of the characters, and found myself frustrated with their constant temper tantrums and "I know more than anyone else" attitude. Goddamn kids these days. Initially I enjoyed the photos, finding them a nice addition to the story, but eventually they just started to feel cheesy, clumsy, cliched, and out of place. I'm not sure I could recommend this book to anyone who is past the age of puberty. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 2 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 2 Characters - 3 Enjoyability - 1 Insightfulness - 3 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - 4 Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars Publisher: Crown Publishers Page Count: 374 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian, YA, Nerd Dates Read: January 3-6, 2016 Reading Challenge: 2016 Reading Challenge Topic: A book you meant to read in 2015 Series: N/A Good Reads Summary In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. Review What a wild ride! Cline knows how to target an audience ... Nerds! We the gamers, table topers, lovers of 80s references, and all around music buffs found ourselves drawn to this book. How could we not? It had what we have always wanted. A loner kid, who might be much like ourselves, not very popular, not the "it" kid, whoy finds himself the star of the world as he goes on the largest egg hunt of all time. For the holy grail of nerdom. Suddenly he is turning heads, making a name for himself, and he has almost all the answers. He's become famous. He's chasing his dream. Okay, I'll stop with the nerd gushing, but I could go on for hours. Putting all the nerdy references aside, Cline also manages to build a thrilling story that keeps you on the edge the entire time. I try my hardest to write spoiler free reviews, but am finding myself struggling with Ready Player One. This book is down right amazing. From page one you know Wade is not perfect. Wade knows he's not perfect. However, in the character of Wade we find a hero that will risk his entire being to fight for what he believes in, and to keep things better for the entirety of the human race. People > Corporations. There is a great mystery surrounding Wade and his friends throughout this book. You just have to keep going to know how it all ends, because not knowing would be killer. Read. This. Book. Do it now! There have been talks for the past couple of years about this book becoming a movie. It's been in development for at least two, if not, three years. The release date keeps getting pushed back. From what I understand, they are having a lot of trouble acquiring all the rights to all of the references in the book, and there are A LOT of them. I really do hope this film gets made, and it is done right. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 9 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 10 Enjoyability - 10 Insightfulness - 8 Ease of Reading - 8 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Del Rey Books Page Count: 382 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Fantasy, War, Space Dates Read: January 1-3, 2016 Reading Challenge: 2016 Reading Challenge Topic: A book you meant to read in 2015 Series: Red Rising, 1 Good Reads Summary "I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them." "I live for you," I say sadly. Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more." Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. Review After having read Red Queen, and reading a lot of reviews comparing this book to that one, I was hesitant to pick this one up. SPOILER ALERT: I HATED RED QUEEN, WITH A RED HOT FIERY PASSION! I did not want to get caught up in another book that I am going to consider throwing into my fireplace when I'm finished with it. Thankfully, Red Rising is so much better than I could have ever hoped for. Brown is a quality writer. He builds a strong and beautiful world you want to climb into. No detail gets missed in his creation. He has developed a story that pulls you in and consumes you. You are there fighting alongside Darrow and cheering him on all along the way. It was refreshing to read a dystopian novel that is fueled by a love story, but does not revolve around a romance. This story revolves around pure, good old-fashioned, revenge. Though our hero is technically a teenager in the book, that is easily forgotten, and takes on the mind and maturity of someone who is years older and wiser. This is what I would expect of a dystopian novel. A child who has been working hard labor since they could walk does not have the care-free worries of our current day millennials, so why do authors constantly write them like that? For me, reading Red Rising was a breath of fresh air. It was a format that we have seen before in dystopian societies, but it was pieced together differently, and for once it didn't focus on a teenage girl stuck in a love triangle while being the only person on an entire planet that can be the savior of it all. Darrow's number one concern isn't about saving anyone, his number one concern is getting even for the woman he loved. Give them hell, Darrow Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 9 Plot Development - 8 Characters - 9 Enjoyability - 10 Insightfulness - 8 Ease of Reading - 8 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars |
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