Unwind- Neal Shusterman
By The Sleepy Reader | July 31, 2008
Neal Shusterman
335 pages
Unwind is set in the not-too-distant-future. The battle between the pro-life and pro-choice sides has spawned the Heartland War which ends the practice of abortion but brings about the Unwind Accord. Parents can retroactively abort their children between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. 99.44% of their body parts must be donated so that, technically, life is protected and they are still “alive.” But the person that once was ceases to exist.
As a series of events converge and we find Connor, Risa and Lev on the run together trying to stay alive and avoid the harvest camps.
One thing that I loved about this book was how the author avoided the temptation to demonize either side. He just lays out some very thought-provoking dialogue and lets it touch the reader’s heart.
In one of my favorite quotes, Connor is speaking to Risa and Lev about the practice of “storking” or abandoning babies on the doorsteps of strangers. If a person is storked and fails to catch the parents in the act, they are then obligated to raise the child. At least until they can have them unwound at thirteen.
In a perfect world mothers would all want their babies, and strangers would open up their homes to the unloved. In a perfect world everything would either be black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn’t a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is. Unwind -pg 75
One of the most touching yet disturbing parts of the book comes as the reader is present during an actual unwinding. The unwind is required to be conscious for the whole procedure and although it is not gruesome or physically painful for them, reading it brought tears to my eyes and the term “unwinding” is most poignant.
Though it won’t leave you feeling chipper inside, sometimes it’s good to be forced to ponder the deeper things. I highly recommend this one.(5/5)
On a side note, here are the 4 measly books that I read in July. No excuses. Just no time. More next month…..HOPEFULLY!!
1. Life As We Knew It-Susan Beth Pfeffer
2. The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley and Danko
3. Isolation Ward - Joshua Spanogle
4. Unwind - Neal - Shusterman
Topics: 2008 Challenges, Book Reviews, Memes, Month in review, Nonfiction | 4 Comments »
I’ve been awarded!
By The Sleepy Reader | July 24, 2008
Wendy from Caribousmom has honored me with these blog awards. Wendy has a great blog and she writes terrific reviews. She also loves a reading challenge as much as I do, though she usually finishes hers.
Here are the rules for passing this award along:
- Put the logo on your blog.
- Add a link to the person who awarded you.
- Nominate at least seven other blogs.
- Add links to those blogs on your blog.
- Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.
- Lynne from Lynne’s Little Corner of the World- Lynne’s blog is beautiful and she is the nicest lady. Plus, I tend to like a lot of the same books that she does so I always check her blog for recommendations.
- Suey from It’s All About Books- Suey is another rapid reader. She has a great sense of humor and I always check her blog for recommendations, especially in the YA category.
- Wendy from Musings of a Bookish Kitty- Wendy and I both love mysteries and urban fantasy so I keep an eye on what she’s reading. I also love kitties so Wendy’s blog is a must-visit for me.
- Stephanie from Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-a-holic-Stephanie’s posts are always great. Plus, she likes rock music and is a child of the 80’s like me. She is also a great resource for feeding my book addiction.
- Sarah at Smallworld Reads- I first started reading Sarah’s blog after she left a comment on mine. I found out that we have a lot in common. The main things we share are that we are both homeschoolers and love to read. She writes wonderful book reviews and has come up with a unique reading challenge.
- SuziQ From Blogging My Books- A must-see on my roster of blogs to read. SuziQ reads mysteries a lot and writes wonderful reviews so I can always check out her blog for more ideas.
- Bybee from Naked Without Books-Bybee writes terrific book reviews and has a great sense of humor. Her blog is always a fun stop in my Google Reader travels.
Seven isn’t even a dent in the number of blogs that I frequent and I love them all. However, space and attention spans are somewhat limited so I’ll stop there. Have a great day!
Topics: Misc | 6 Comments »
Uncle.Uncle.Uncle.
By The Sleepy Reader | July 21, 2008
I don’t know why I do this to myself. I think a part of me knew even as I joined some challenges that I might not be able to complete them.
My life has gotten way crazy lately and I have been reading next to nothing. I haven’t been blogging much or reading other blogs. Knowing that I have books that need to be read for challenges has made things even more stressful. I should have learned this lesson last year since the same thing happened. You can probably see where I am going. I am over-challenged. Since this is becoming no fun for me anymore, I am going to drop out of some of the challenges that I have joined and hopefully bring some pleasure back to my reading(in case I get time to do some in the near future.)
My sincere apologies to the hosts of these challenges. I signed up with full intentions of completing them and they are great challenges. I guess I just don’t know my limits.
The challenges I am dropping for sure:
- The Southern Reading Challenge
- The Summer Reading Challenge
- The ARC Reading Challenge
- The Notable Books Challenge
- The Well-Rounded Challenge
That’s all for now but if life stays crazy I may have to drop some more.
Topics: Misc | 13 Comments »
Non-Book Related Stuff: Backstage with Poison
By The Sleepy Reader | July 17, 2008
Recently, I had to pare down the amount of blogs I was reading in my Google Reader because I was spending too much time reading blogs and not enough time living life. However, one of the ones I kept was Challies Dot Com. I enjoy it quite a bit and there is always plenty of thought provoking stuff posted over there.
Today in his A La Carte section, Tim Challies posted a link to a blog called Without Wax which looks like another promising blog to read. There’s a pretty cool article there about C.C. Deville, guitarist with Poison, who recently became a Christian. As a parent to two teen boys who LOVE Guitar Hero, I hope the video goes viral. Finally, a good role model.
Guitar Hero from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.
Topics: Misc | 4 Comments »
Isolation Ward -Joshua Spanogle
By The Sleepy Reader | July 14, 2008
Joshua Spanogle
Audiobook
In Baltimore’s St. Raphael’s Hospital, three newly admitted patients are among society’s most helpless citizens: female residents of Baltimore’s group homes for the mentally impaired, their bodies racked by a virus the likes of which no one at St. Raphael’s has ever seen.
Dr. Nathaniel McCormick is one of the first on the scene. A young investigator from the Centers for Disease Control, Nate is paid to explore the bizarre, the exotic, and the baffling–from superviruses to bioterrorism. But as soon as Nate begins to investigate the lives and habits of the victims, he knows something is terribly wrong. Using all his skills as a medical detective, Nate soon zeroes in on the “vector”–the one person who had sexual contact with the first victims. And when that suspect is found murdered, Nate fears that the disease he’s chasing may not be an act of nature, but of man.
I read this book for the Medical Mystery Madness Challenge and I have to say that I was disappointed overall. I really never grew to care about Nate as much as I would have liked. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Consequently, I had a tough time getting into the story.
I also got a bit lost toward the end when Nate was figuring out how the virus in the story came into existence. However, that could be because I was listening rather than reading. Not sure if I would try another by this author or not.(2/5)
Topics: 2008 Challenges, Book Reviews, Fiction | 3 Comments »
The Sunday Salon-Reading Funks and Millionaires.
By The Sleepy Reader | July 13, 2008
After spending a good portion of the week in a reading funk, I was finally able to break out with The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko. It was a surprising choice of books for that purpose but like most people in these difficult economic times, I find myself quite interested in reading about personal finance. This book has been around a while but when I heard the title mentioned, I had never heard of it.
In this book, the authors share information that they have gleaned from years of interviewing wealthy people. The things they learn may seem like common sense,(live below your means, make wise investments after thorough research, avoid keeping up with the Joneses, save, save, save) it’s fairly obvious that lots of Americans could learn from practicing these principles. For myself, I wish I had a do-over with all of the money that has slipped through my fingers in my lifetime.
The Millionaire Next Door also puts a new face on the affluent. They are not necessarily the people with the huge house in the fancy neighborhood or wearing designer clothes. They are more likely to be the modestly dressed person who has lived in the same home for years and drives a used car. Having worked hard, invested and saved, they understand the value of a dollar.
Though this book was a bit dry at times, I think it would be an invaluable resource to anyone interested in common sense financial advice.(4.5/5)
Topics: Just for Fun, Nonfiction | 1 Comment »
Booking Through Thursday-Doomsday
By The Sleepy Reader | July 10, 2008
What would you do if, all of a sudden, your favorite source of books was unavailable?
Whether it’s a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop … what would you do if, suddenly, they were out of business? Devastatingly, and with no warning? Where would you go for books instead? What would you do? If it was a local business you would try to help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other store? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?
I tend to get most of my books from PBS. I also frequent the library. If either of these were suddenly out of business, I guess I would have to rely on my reserves. I would start whittling away at my TBR pile.
I would probably also check out the library in the neighboring town. Of course, the neighboring town is a bit of a drive and with the price of gas, I could probably only do this monthly. I’d have to choose wisely and stock up well. I rarely purchase books new so having these two avenues closed off to me would be pretty devastating.
Topics: Memes | 3 Comments »
doooh!
By The Sleepy Reader | July 9, 2008
I guess I am officially in a reading funk. Not sure why. I have several books that sound appealing but I just can’t concentrate for very long so it’s slow-going.
Hopefully one of the books that I am interested in can help me break out. If not, then I am in big trouble with my challenge and ARC reading.
So, what helps you break out of a reading funk?
Topics: Misc | 7 Comments »
My life in books?
By The Sleepy Reader | July 3, 2008
Part I: Choose Your Life Books
What are the books that, in some aspect, define you? Think about who you are in terms of spirituality, love, economics, values, worldview–the list could go on and on. These might be nonfiction, self-help, fiction, picture books, children’s books, etc. Give us your life in books. To see my example, click here. After you’ve picked your life books, write a post and leave the link on Mr. Linky. Be sure to copy and paste the button above on your blog somewhere!Part II: Discover Something New
Check out the blogs of other participants and find at least two titles to add to your TBR list. Let us know what books you are adding by linking a second time to Mr. Linky with (Something New) by your name.Part III: Read the Books
When you’ve read the new books, write a review and leave a link to your post in the comments here.
This challenge scares me a little but it also intrigues me. I find it scary because I know my favorite books will probably paint a pretty strange picture of me. I find it intriguing because I am going to have to rack my brain to figure out which books to share. It’s hosted by SmallWorld Reads.
Here goes nothing:
1. The Bible- Simply put, I wouldn’t be who I am without having read it.
2. Leave it to Claire by Tracey Bateman -This book is fiction and it’s light reading. I read it at the beach last summer and I think I completed it in one day. I have never seen myself so clearly in a character. There are huge differences between Claire and I but there are huge similarities too. It resonated with me at this point in my life. I will be interested in reading it again to see if that is what made me love it so much.
3. Putting Amazing Back in Grace and/or In the Face of God by Michael Horton- I read both of these books before I had a blog to post my reviews on but these are both theological books. These two books had a profound affect on my view of God, worship, secular vs. sacred thinking, and theology in general. They set the stage for biblical studies that would overturn my whole view of God.
4. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert - This book is historical fiction. It was a fascinating story and sparked in me an interest in finding out about some of the characters that actually lived and about the things that actually happened there. That’s what great historical fiction does. Even though I never read this to my kids, it also reminds me of all of the wonderful times that I had reading aloud to them and teaching them history through literature. We have actually taken several vacations based on our historical reading and studies. They are older now and reading aloud together is one of the things that I will miss most about home-schooling.
5. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey - This is non-fiction/finance. When my husband lost his job last year, it rapidly became apparent that we needed to make some changes to our financial lifestyle. Sometimes it’s discouraging because we don’t have a very big shovel for digging ourselves out of debt and it’s slow going but we are committed to making the changes for our future and that of our children. I wish I knew then what I know now but this book definitely cemented the need to make a change in my thinking.
6. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom -This book is timeless and filled with lessons. It taught me about faith, perseverance, sacrifice, service, forgiveness and humility. Corrie Ten Boom suffered much but she was used by God in a big way to teach others. I could only aspire to be as faithful as she was.
7. Fannie Flagg Books- I will read anything written by Fannie Flagg but I haven’t loved all of her books. My favorites are Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, Standing in the Rainbow and Fried Green Tomatoes. These books embody small-town life and the close community before urban sprawl.They also remind me that I am a small-town girl at heart and make me wish for those days. Life wasn’t perfect then either but in these books, they face life with a healthy dose of humor which is something I always strive to do.
Topics: 2008 Challenges | 5 Comments »
It’s a blowout!
By The Sleepy Reader | July 2, 2008
I saw this one posted over at 1 More Chapter. It’s hosted by Mrs. S at Blue Archipelago.
I get into more trouble when I go visiting.
I participated in a similar challenge back in May and I was able to complete it so I am going for it again. It’s a fairly straight-forward deal. Read as many books as you can over the course of the month. For more in-depth rules click on the button. As for me, I think I will shoot for 8 books since I seem to be hitting around 6-7 per month. I will post them here as I finish them.
1. Life As We Knew It-Susan Beth Pfeffer
2. The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley and Danko
3. Isolation Ward - Joshua Spanogle
Topics: 2008 Challenges | No Comments »