I Totally Won!

Guys, guys! I won something! I don't ever win stuff!

But now, thanks to Deanna at Once Upon a Time, I can feed the frenzy and buy more books! I encourage you to visit her site! She is one of my new favorite people (not that my friendship can be purchased with free stuff or anything...). She actually has a freakin' awesome blog about children's literature - from a teacher's point of view! Go, check her out! And if you are looking for other fantastic review sites, I have a bunch listed on the sidebar.

And I promise I will get another review up soon...

Book Review: My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

My One Hundred Adventureschronicles 12-year-old Jane's string of adventures over one summer. While she doesn't quite reach her quota of one hundred in that one summer, she discovers a lot about herself, her mother, and life in general.

I had really mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely loved the language. Horvath really describes things, particularly the ocean and its ambient surroundings, in such a way that it almost doesn't matter what else happens in the book. However, as I kept reading, I found myself not really very interested. The characters were all very quirky and strange, almost annoyingly so at times. I loved some of them, but since they were all odd, it kind of detracted from their individuality. The story was just not to my taste. There have been lots of starred reviews of this book, so please check those out (some of them can be found on Amazon) before making a judgment about the book. I guess it just wasn't right for me.

RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none
(although there are "who's your daddy" issues)

v-factor: none

Overall rating: **

Book Review: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Last Lectureis a beautiful collection of wisdom and humor from Randy Paush's last lecture. Professors are often asked to give what was called a "last lecture," to share their thoughts about life and what they would want to be their last words. Randy, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and with only a few months of health remaining, finds new meaning and purpose behind his last lecture.

I absolutely loved this book! All of the praise is correct, as far as I'm concerned. Every section discussed some of Pausch's thoughts on life and each one seemed remarkably true and intelligent. I tried to pick just one or two gems from throughout the book, but I just couldn't narrow it down. Perhaps what impressed me the most was Pausch's outlook on life - he was positive throughout while still acknowledging the sorrow and difficulty of his situation. I also really loved how everything was always about his family - his wife and three young children. They are the most important things to him. Now, if only we could gain the perspective of a terminal patient without having the terminal part. I think that is one purpose for writing a book like this.

RATINGS:
s-factor: !
A few, not overwhelming.

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: *****