101 Things in 1001 Days

5. Watch 6 Netflix DVDs

In February, I watched The Motorcycle Diaries (which I forgot I'd added to my Netflix DVD queue and forgot to take off when I decided I didn't want to watch it for one of my travel from home trips).

In March, I watched Winter's Tale (loved it) and Snow White and the Huntsman (absolutely gorgeous visuals but terrible writing).



Progress: 4 / 6

5. Read 5 wrapped books

I unwrapped another book a few weeks ago and read half of it on the Metro and the other half while waiting for my flight home from Portland. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo was a super sweet (though sometimes heartbreaking) story about a child's rabbit toy that finds itself separated from its family and moving from home to home in search of love and caring. It meets a whole lot of different people and beings--some who love it and others who are rough with it. And it learns a lot about the world at the same time, including learning some tough lessons. The illustrations were simply gorgeous and really got to the heart of each scene chosen.

Progress: 5/5

5. Read 5 wrapped books

I finished reading So Shelly by Ty Roth. I have been fascinated by the lives of the romantic poets since I was in high school. So it was interesting to read this imagining of Byron, Shelly, and Keats as high schoolers. I wasn't a huge fan of all the jumping back and forth in time for this particular story. But I did think that the way the characters were put together and modernized was enjoyable. I wish I had LOVED it, but I did definitely like it. And I'm glad this wrapped book project got me to finally read it.

Progress: 3/5

5. Read 5 wrapped books

I finished Amalee by Dar Williams today. Dar and I share a birthday, and she happens to be my favorite singer-songwriter. I instantly bought this, her first book, when I found out about it. It took me a while to get to reading it, so I'm glad I ended up wrapping it to surprise myself with later. I liked that it dealt with a lot of interesting issues and themes you don't normally see in children's fiction (what a sick parent really goes through when he's scared of dying, close family friends who become a found family, feelings of a child who thinks she's the school bully, and more). I liked a lot of it, especially how real the emotions and dialogue felt; people don't often say the right thing at the right time in the real world, and they don't always say what they mean. I didn't so much care for the hypnosis section; it seemed a little too out there and blunt/obvious. I wish that that information could have come out a little more organically in the narrative. But otherwise, I really enjoyed seeing Amalee interact with her father's best friends and seeing them band together to help support her and her father seemed to be dying. It was also refreshing how it read like a kid's train of thought. The story jumped a lot, and there was a lot of uncertainty and misunderstanding. I felt for everyone in the book.

Progress: 1 / 5

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

I earread three more books this month to finally finish this goal on my list.

I read The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga and have mixed feelings about it. I found it a realistic portrayal of my mindset as a teen, and I loved the fannish aspects of the book especially. But the problem is that it was too realistic for me and brought back some vivid memories and emotions from bad times in my teen years. Therefore, I'm not sure I would read more in this series, but I really loved the characters and wish things work out for them.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/198188.html

I read The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake and really liked following Maleeka on her journey of self-acceptance. I wanted to strangle one of her so-called friends for being so terrible to her and to everyone. But I loved so much of the rest of this book--Maleeka's slave girl short stories, Maleeka having to navigate the mirky waters of boys and popularity and teasing, and the message of being comfortable with you that she gets from one of her teachers.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/198028.html

I also read Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson, both in audio and in paper. It was a personal mistake to read this book because I found it to be so anxiety-filled and emotionally distressing for me. And then I went and got it out of the library a second time to look at all the photos and cry all over again. I thought I knew so much about the Titanic disaster, but I learned a lot of things this time around and really felt that it was special to learn about it through not only a timeline-organized account of the disaster but also so very many quotes from the actual survivors. That made it special and genuine, and it also gave me so many different perspectives.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/197660.html


Done! 25/25

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

I finished two books yesterday during my day trip drive around Virginia.

I read The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech. I don't think I fully understand this book, which is a little sad-making as it's juvie fiction, and I feel I should understand it if kids are meant to understand it. I liked some of the characters and the Ireland connections. Other characters I liked much less.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/195519.html

I also earread Shug by Jenny Han. I really enjoyed this book. It was a realistic portrayal of middle school life, which was one of the roughest parts of my life. So I definitely felt for Shug as she dealt with all the changes going on in her life from parents to friends to a would-be-boyfriend.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/195794.html


Progress: 19/25

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

Last week I earread Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles. I thought it was a wonderful read, though I did get pretty emotional during different stages. I loved the themes and messages and the way they showed themselves in the book. Interesting characters and a touching story.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/186149.html

Progress: 16/25

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

I read The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden, because I loved the Curious George books when I was a kid and this looked like a good book. The author pieced together the journey of the two authors as they start to create their books and then find themselves on the run during World War II. It's a great story of how they saved their children's book manuscripts and how their manuscripts ended up saving them and getting them to safety. I'm grateful they escaped and could bring so many wonderful stories to this world.

Progress: 14/25

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

I read The Scarecrow and his Servant by Philip Pullman. This was a strange book. It's a little bit of magical realism, which is not my thing. But there's also some adventure and fantasy and a nice story. But strange. I have enjoyed other books by Philip Pullman, but I don't think I would have read this book had it not been labeled as an FCPS book on the shelves at my library.
http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/182624.html

Progress: 12/25

5. Read 25 books off the FCPS shelves at the library

I finished Whittington today while running errands. After my cat passed, I knew I wasn't ready to read a book about a cat. I felt ready a few weeks ago and snagged it off the shelves during a volunteer shift. It was short, but I only recently got to finally reading it. The book covers many different stories--the animals in the barn, the folk tale about the man named Dick Whittington for whom the main character cat is named, and two children who help out their grandfather and get to know the animals in the barn. I am still unclear as to why some of the people in the book can hold conversations with the animal characters and others cannot. But, otherwise, a nice book. http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/167683.html

Progress: 10/25