Jackaby---a visit with the author and a review

William Ritter, author

This past Spring I met the author of Jackaby, William Ritter, at the Cavalcade of Authors West event in Tacoma. I introduced myself to him because he teaches school in the same district as my sister in Springfield, Oregon. Also, several student participants from my school were crazy for his Jackaby series and were eager to attend his workshop.  I attempted to sit on on one of them, too, but all the seats in his room were taken. Drats!

When I learned that William Ritter is a high school teacher, like me, I wanted to interview him for this blog. I am always interested in how authors find time to write, especially if they are also holding down demanding and time-consuming day jobs.

-I enjoyed reading your author essay over at Algonquin Books. Your experiences in Japan and at the small school in Salem make me think you are a guy who sees magic everywhere you go. Is that correct? Can you share another everyday magical story with my readers?

Absolutely! We get used to the magical things all around us, and we stop seeing them. The magic fades into normalcy, but it's still possible to reopen that part of our brain. Sometimes we still remember to marvel at the swirling colors in a soap bubble, or watch in awe as the land falls away when our airplane takes off, and that's when we remind ourselves that things that seem like they should be impossible are actually possible. When you start thinking like that about the things that already obviously exist, it opens you up to really think about the things that don't exist... yet. It helps to believe in impossible things from time to time.

I also see magic in storytelling. Every culture is connected to a long history of folklore and traditions. Every day of the week, for example, is named for a supernatural entity. (Sun-day, Moon-day, Tiw's-day, Woden's-day, Thor's-day, Frigga's-day, and Saturn-Day). The old gods are literally with us every day. Whether or not we are religious, our modern rational world is built on a foundation of faiths. We would not be who we are as a society if our ancestors had not had a little faith in impossible things.

-As a long time high school educator myself I am very curious how your students react to you as an author. For example, are they always wanting you to read their creative writing attempts? Do they refer to your characters or even seem to know about your other life? How do you juggle the demands of the publishing world with the demands of teaching? Is it your goal to one day leave teaching and devote yourself full time to writing?

I love teaching and writing simultaneously. My students are a big inspiration for my storytelling, and many of the life lessons Jackaby offers Rook are lessons I have offered to my students at some point or another in class. I occasionally bring my own writing into the class to show them what editing looks like professionally (MESSY. My early drafts need a LOT of revision), and occasionally I let my class have a hand in my writing process. Book 3, for example, had three different titles before I settled on GHOSTLY ECHOES. That decision was made by a class vote (they chose an option contrary to what the publicists wanted, and I sided with my kids). If I ever did stop teaching, it would be because the time constraints began to outweigh my effectiveness as a teacher, not because I want to get away from it. I love both of my jobs, and as long as I can balance them, I'll keep doing both.

-Talk a little about your daily/weekly schedule. When do you do your writing? With a young family and demands of a high school English teacher on your plate, it must be hard to find the time.  How long does it take you to finish a book once the writing process begins?

I'm working on book 4, and every book has been a different process. I spend roughly 6 months to a year writing a rough draft. By "rough" I mean I've edited every page a dozen times, but it's still awful. Then I spend another 6 months or so in heavy revision with editors, and then finally copyediting to catch the little errors. In the end, the publisher takes over with publicity, cover designs, and copywriting, and a few months later, a book exists. 

As for how I make time writing, I just had to commit to MAKE TIME, and stop WAITING for time to happen. My wife has been hugely supportive in that. In addition to being a beta reader, she also helps me make time to write. She'll come home after a full workday and offer tend to the kids a couple days a week, or she'll kick me out of the house so I can go concentrate in the library or sit in some coffee shop. Without her, I couldn't possibly keep to my publishing schedule. Even with her helping out, there are months at a stretch when little to nothing gets written, and occasionally a single week in which I knock out a quarter of a book.

-In your essay you mentioned that Jackaby insisted on becoming a novel. I love that description. It is as if he is real and you are just a conduit for writing about him. Is this correct or how would you describe your relationship with your characters?

My relationship with my writing is often a little combative. The thing about creating a book is that you're never really content with it while you're working on it. It's always either unfinished, or it's finished, but it's not good enough—otherwise you wouldn't be working on it. While you may never be content, you can still have fun with it. I spend 99% of my writing time trying to push through my intended plot, only to be foiled by characters who want to do things differently because it feels more natural to them. Frustrating, but also fun.

-Ghostly Echoes is due out in August. Will it be the last book in a trilogy or can we expect more Jackaby books after it?

Ghostly Echoes will be the penultimate book. It answers some big questions, but also sets up some major tension for the fourth and final installment. I may someday return to these characters, but for the time being, this storyline will end with book 4. 

-Is there is anything else you'd like my readers to know?

Do what you love and love what you do. I have been very lucky to see my books become successful, but that would not have happened if I had written for money, or if I had gotten weighed down by the parts of the process that are less fun. The books would not have been any good if I had written to satisfy a market demand, or if I had pandered to a particular demographic. I just wanted a story to exist in the world, and it didn't—so I wrote it. That meant that I got to have a lot of fun doing something that felt right for me. That's an experience I would PAY for, so the fact that I get PAID to do it is just a cherry on top.

-Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions. I am a big fan and wish you continued success with your Jackaby series and all future books. btw- I love the covers of your books!

I read Jackaby during my 24-hour readathon in April and enjoyed it very much. The little blurb on the book describes it as Sherlock meets Dr. Who.  I actually think the blurb is a good description of the book. It is a fun combination of classic-themed literature (Sherlock) with unexpected paranormal activity (Dr. Who.)

The narrator of Jackaby is Abigail Rook, young woman who is traveling the world in search of adventure. She has no money so has to find work immediately after she gets off the boat in New Fiddleham in 1892. She answers an advertisement to be an assistant for Jackaby, a private detective. She finds out soon enough he is a paranormal private detective. “Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”  Abigail not only has a job but she also has lodging, which she has to share with a ghost, and a past assistant who was turned into a duck. Abigail ends up being a real ally for Jackaby because she is very observant of normal things whereas he notices supernatural signs. It is lucky they are a team because almost immediately they have to investigate a serial killer that leaves behind paranormal traces. 

What a fun and thrilling book. I recommend it often to my teen readers.

Disclaimer: I read the print edition of this book from my school library.

Day four

Golden Boys by Sonya Harnett

In one of the first chapters of the Golden Boys by Sonya Harnett, 11-year-old Declan takes a punch from the neighborhood bully, saving his younger and smaller friend, Avery, from harm. This scene foreshadows what is to come in this moody coming-of-age tale, with the wrong person often taking the punishment that an adult really deserved.

The neighborhood where Declan and Avery live is vaguely reminiscent of my neighborhood when I was growing up, with kids riding their bikes up and down, going much further afield than adults ever imagined, always finding something to do outside. There is never a mention of a year but it is obviously a date before cell phones or computers. I think it is set in Australia only because they call the snack shop a "milk bar" and the author is Australian, but otherwise it could be anywhere. Into this setting the Jenson family moves with their two boys, Colt, a 12-year-old, and his younger brother. These boys, unlike the other ragtag group of friends, seem to have every possible toy any boy could ever want---skateboards, trains, a BMX bicycle, basketballs, even a swimming pool. It is Colt's father, Rex, who always invites the other boys over to play. And right away the reader (aka me) starts to get a creepy feeling that Rex has an ulterior motive for asking the neighborhood boys to come over to play.

Golden Boys has two narrators, Colt and Freya.  Colt is the eye-witness to what happens with his family, especially his father. At one point Colt realizes that his father buys so many toys so their house will be an enticing spot for other boys to visit. The toys thus become bait. And Freya, Declan's older sister who is also twelve, hates what she sees happening in her family with an alcoholic father and disinterested mother with too many siblings and not enough room for all the children in their small house. Both make attempts at righting what they see as wrong and both attempts are twarted by adults who should know better. In effect Colt and Freya took the punishment their fathers should have received.

I found myself almost mesmerized by this book. The themes of pedophilia, alcoholism, and abuse are really heavy topics. Yet I was almost transfixed by the writing, the setting, and the neighborhood scene which unfolded before my eyes. I remember feeling the same way about Lolita when I read it several years ago. The topic was depraved but the language was exquisite. I felt drawn to and repelled by the book in equal measure. My experience with Golden Boys was very similar. I hated it and loved it equally.

The title of the book caused me to pause and think. Were Colt and his brother the golden boys because they had every toy any boy could ever dream of? Or were the father's golden because they got off without experiencing consequences to their abhorent behaviors? Before moving to this neighborhood Colt has earned medals for track and field. His little statues of a boy running were displayed on his book shelf. Little golden statues of a boy in a running pose. Was he running toward his goal, the finish line, or was he running away from something?

I believe this book should be a Printz contender because the writing is so strong, so is the development of the characters and the use of symbolism. But I don't think it will win any popularity awards. As I was looking around online I learned Golden Boys was published in 2014 in Australia as an adult book. That didn't shock me at all. It seems like publishers in America are much more likely to take a book which has young characters and make it a YA book rather than looking at the subject matter and determining the theme to be more appropriate for adult than children. This book is not sexually explicit or overtly violent. It brings up uncomfortable topics but these are topics children may have to deal with. Young adults should be trusted with material which might seem too mature for them if it is handled in the right way. Golden Boys handles tough topics so well I would have no hesitations getting it into the hands of high school students.

Disclaimer: I listened to the audio version of the book which I purchased with my own money. The voice actor, David Vatousios, did a very nice job narrating the book. My rating: 4 stars.

Day Three

A Steep and Thorny Way, an aha and a review

This review of A Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters is a long time in the making. I read the book in April then let it simmer on the proverbial back burner of my reviewer's mind for too long. I read the book almost two months ago, could I possibly remember the details well enough to write a coherent review? I wasn't sure so I visited the author's website to gain some inspiration. Here is how her publishers sum up the book:

Inspired by Hamlet and infused with the real history and feel of Prohibition-era Oregon, The Steep and Thorny Way is a gripping and thoughtful story of intolerance, forgiveness, and finding one's own path.

I've underlined the keywords to draw emphasis.

I've never actually read Hamlet or seen it acted out. But I am very familiar with its plot and many of its famous quotes, like "There is something rotten in Denmark." Oh cool. Let me change the words and adjust it to fit this book...

"There is something rotten in Oregon."

There certainly is something rotten in Oregon. The book is set during the Prohibition-era in Oregon in a community dominated by the KKK and racist activists, and general intolerance. Hanalee is biracial. Her African-American father and her white mother's marriage isn't even recognized in the community. When her father is killed by a drunk driver, Hanalee's mother remarries the county doctor in a very short time. But now Hanalee is suspicious he had something to do with her father's death.

As I pondered what I was going to say about this book I wondered if the title, A Steep and Thorny Way was also from Hamlet. A quick Internet search answered my query.

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,

Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,

Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine,

Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads

And recks not his own rede.

                                                              ---Hamlet, Act 1:3

Aha! I found it. This book by Cat Winters revolves around this poem from Hamlet. The people in the community where Hanalee lives are very self-righteous and they say their Ku Klux Klan organization is just to promote positive civic opportunities. Yet the KKK in Oregon did the same things as elsewhere in the country, it opposed and harassed African-Americans, homosexuals, even Catholics. As we know from history, members of the KKK purported to be Christians yet did not extend Christ's love to everyone, like a reckless libertine not willing to walk the steep and thorny way to heaven themselves.

We know in Hamlet that the ghost of his father comes back to warn him that his uncle, who is now married to his mother, was his murderer. Hanalee's father also comes back as a ghost to warn her of how he was killed. Both Hamlet and Hanalee are filled with a tremendous urge for revenge.

The time is out of joint, o cursed spite

that ever I was born to set it right

                                ----Hamlet, Act 1.5

Hanalee finds that she is wrong about many things. She finds friends among those she originally thought were enemies. She found ways to fight injustice and was able forgive some of those who wronged her. In the end we feel assured she has a brighter future ahead of her.

This above all: to thine own self be true

                            ---Hamlet, Act 1.3

Cat Winter's A Steep and Thorny Way is “a fast-paced read with multiple twists, the novel delivers a history lesson wrapped inside a murder mystery and ghost story. " -Kirkus reviews

Day Two

Disclaimer: I read this print book from my own library. It qualifies as a 2017 Printz contender. As happens often with me, I liked the book better upon a time period of reflection. My original rating was 4 stars.  I hope that many of you read it and let me know what you think.

Reviewathon

Over a month ago I participated in a readathon. I read a bunch of books and felt so accomplished. Then reality hit. When was I going to actually write the reviews for all those books? When I saw this new ---athon I knew this was my answer. I shall write a review a day for a week (and I still won't be caught up.) If you want to give yourself an excuse to write all those reviews which are hanging out there, join up at Estella's Revenge.

My first review: June 12th- Circling the Sun by Paula McLain.
Day Two: The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters.
Day three, June 14th: Golden Boys by Sonya Harnett
Day four, a review and an author interview, Jackaby by William Ritter
Day five. OK, I confess it is really day six but I hope to write two today, The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan.
Day six: Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit.

Sunday Salon: June 12, 2016

GKHS has been pranked. Senior prank 2016

Weather: fine. A few greyish clouds are floating by but it looks like work-in-the-yard weather, not too hot, not too cold.

History Made: This week, for the first time in America's history we have nominated a female candidate from one of the two major political parties to be President of the United States. Finally! history is being made. If you haven't see this video, I recommend it. It is very inspiring.

Praying for Orlando, Florida, for the families of all the victims of terror and gun violence: This wasn't a good weekend for Orlando. Friday night Christina Grimmie, a young musician and a one-time contestant on The Voice, was gunned down by some guy (a spurned fan?) and Sunday morning over 100 people were killed or wounded in a domestic terrorism attack on people partying in a gay club. My heart is breaking.

Elizabeth Warren explains the importance of the Judiciary branch and how Donald Trump and the Republican party are trying to mess with it.  This is long (30 minutes) but is is very revealing. I don't usually use this blog as a spot for politics but this week with Trump calling a decision made by a Federal Judge to be erroneous because the judge is a Mexican (he's not), made my blood boil. Click the link here, but please open in a new tab.

We've been pranked: the school year is coming to an end (six more days) and you know what that means: senior pranks. This year the senior class outdid themselves. They booby trapped the whole school with saran wrap, balloons, and crepe paper. It was hilarious.  They just stood around watching everyone try to figure out how to get up the stairs or down the halls.  Good job Class of 2016. You got us! See photos.  

The main staircase is blocked with saran wrap and balloons

Crepe Paper and Saran Warp block off part of the Commons

Even the hallways were criss-crossed with crepe paper. 2016 prank.

We didn't really need this sign. We knew who had pranked us.

Books currently reading:

• West With the Night by Beryl Markham---a memoir of a fascinating, eccentric woman who was a contemporary of Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton of Out of Africa fame.
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner---a YA audiobook. The story revolves around three teens, one, Dill, has a father who preaches in a church which dances with poisonous snakes. It is an odd topic I've never read about before.55%
• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge---another YA novel, this one is a mystery set in the late 1800s. 40%.

Finished reading this week:

• Circling the Sun by Paula McLain...a book club selection and a novelized memoir of Beryl Markham (See note above about West with the Night.) This book has become my new obsession. Read my review here.

Pressure washing the deck:  Yesterday Don and I pressure washed half of our back deck. It is made of that recycled material called Trex. It isn't the world's best product for the Northwest since it does it discolored and allows moss to grow on it.  My job was to brush the cleaner before Don power washed it.  Then I would follow behind him using a paint scraper to get up the moss and lichen which had grown between the slats. It was a very wet winter as Don kept reminding me.

A quirky reading habit: yesterday on this blog I identified a quirky reading habit of mine. Do you have any quirky reading habits yourself? Check out that blog post, here.

Scones: We decided to have brunch after church but had to deal with the foodstuffs we had on hand. We dug out this old scone recipe book. I think the last time it was used was 1997. Carly selected and made the most delicious scones I've ever had, Classic Cream Scones.

My thoughts and prayers are in Orlando right now.

"This really is a bloody wonderful book": Circling the Sun

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain is a novelized memoir about Beryl Markham who lived in British East Africa ("before Kenya was Kenya") for most of her life. The story focuses on Markham's early years through her twenties. She tells her story as a remembrance while in the cockpit of her airplane, a plane she is attempting to fly across the Atlantic from East to West in 1936. Spoiler alert, she makes it, well, sort of, and goes on to write her memoir, West with the Night, in 1942.

Markham lived a very colorful life. She was abandoned by her mother at a young age and was raised by her father, a racehorse trainer. Her best friend as a child was a native boy and she wanted to be a Kipsigis Warrior when she grew up. What she did become was the first female horse trainer in Africa, maybe the world, and an accomplished pilot. Both of these things shocked the folks in high society of the 1920s. Markham always seemed to be either in or out with these folks and her fortunes rose and fell. She had two divorces (unheard of in those days) and several other affairs.

Her most famous alliance was with Denys Finch-Hatton, an adventurer and big-game hunter, who was played by Robert Redford in the 1980s film, Out of Africa, which was based on the memoir written by Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen. Apparently Hatton and Markham had an affair as his affair with Blixen was waning. It was Denys who got Beryl interested in flying and her interest didn't wane even after he died in a plane wreck on a flight she was supposed to be on.

Beryl Markham mythologizes many events in her life which gave her a sense of  invincibility. She had scrapes with horses, snakes, lions, and airplanes. All of them could have killed her but didn't. Her memoir, West with the Night, sold only modestly and then went out of print. Her life would have become a complete unknown had it not been for Ernest Hemingway who read her book and wrote in his notes, "This really is a bloody wonderful book". When Hemingway died his son found the note and located Markham, still living in Kenya and eeking out an existence as a horse trainer. Her book was republished and was well received. She lived out the rest of her life in relative wealth.

I have to confess that I am a little obsessed with Beryl Markham right now. After finishing Circling the Sun I paid $3.99 to rent the video Out of Africa starring Redford and Streep. Though Karen Blixen didn't mention Beryl Markham in her memoir she was their contemporary and friend. Watching the film made me see again what Markham's early life would have been like. I've checked out Blixen's memoir from my library and borrowed West with the Night for the summer from the only school in the district which had it. I've only read a few pages of each of the books but I am fully prepared to complete both of them.

Paula McLain did it again. My obsession with Markham right now is very similar to the obsession I had with Hemingway after I read her other novelized memoir, The Paris Wife. In that novel we meet Hemingway at the beginning of his writing career and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. After I read that book I had to read several books by Hemingway and did lots of Internet-type research on his life and about other famous folks he hung out with, Fitzgerald, Stein, and Joyce, to name a few. That novel focuses narrowly on Hemingway and his associates. This novel, Circling the Sun, not only focuses on Markham and her doings, but also on the culture and the beauty of Kenya and of Africa. It really makes the reader feel as if they are right there in Kenya, before it was Kenya.

This book is also a "bloody wonderful book". Not to be missed.

Disclaimer: I borrowed the audiobook from my public library, with Katharine McEwan narrating. What a wonderful treat it was to hear this book read aloud with all its Kenyan names and places. It was a blessing to have someone who knew what she was doing to deal with the pronunciations. I recommend this format.

I have a quirky reading habit. Do you?

This morning, as I arose from my bed, a thought crossed my mind that I should read enough pages of my book to get to the one-third point before breakfast.

Now I know that is a weird thought to have first thing in the morning. But it isn't unusual for me to think about my reading goals in terms of pages and percentages. I do it all the time. I always check how many pages a book has and then carve it up into sections before I start reading. When I get to one of these milestones I get the satisfaction of saying to myself, "Ah, you have just completed 10% (or whatever percentage) of the book. Way to go!"

Quirky.

I have been counting out pages of my books for years but not until this week did I take a moment to stop and ask myself why do I do this.

After a little contemplation, it came to me in a flash. It all started with one book, a long book, the longest I had ever read up to that time. The book was "...And the Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Santmyer. My mom loaned it to me and asked me to read it. I gaped at its length, 1,176 pages. I thought I would never finish it. But as I read I found myself doing mental math, congratulating myself every 110 pages because I had just finished another 10% of the book. Breaking it down that way made the book much less daunting. And the satisfaction of completing such a long book was tremendous.

On a funny note. I couldn't remember the title of this book, that one that started this quirky habit of mine.  I searched the Internet for books of 1000 pages with women in the title. Someone had created a list on Goodreads of long books. There it was. Amazing.

I read "...And the Ladies of the Club" almost thirty years ago. I've been carving up my books into manageable page counts ever since. Quirky. I get it. But it works for me. And, by the way, this morning I did read 60+ pages of my current book so I would reach that 1/3rd mark before I stopped to write this blog post!

What about you? How do you cope with long books? What quirky reading habits do you have?

Friday Quotes: THE LIE TREE

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now---


Title: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Book Beginning:

The boat moved with a nauseous, relentless rhythm, like someone chewing on a rotten tooth.

Friday 56:

Natural scientists liked to argue and debate. Back at the rectory Faith had grown used to her father's guests smiling, bantering, and my-dear-fellow-ing over their tea, while racing their rival theories like prize ponies.

Comment: This is the only YA book published so far this year to garner a starred review from every publication which has reviewed it, seven at my counting. I am not far enough into the plot to comment on it but I can say I have noticed what a tremendous writer Hardinge is. This book won the 2015 Costa Award in the U.K.

-Anne

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

John Corey Whaley, author of the award-winning book Where Things Come Back and a teen favorite Noggin, has hit another in-the-park home run with his latest book Highly Illogical Behavior.

The story centers around Solomon, a teen who hasn't left his house for the past three years, not even to go into the backyard. His agoraphobia is so pronounced he has been trapped indoors since that awful day in 7th grade when he stripped off his clothes and sat in fountain in his underwear in front of all of his classmates. Lisa witnessed Solomon's meltdown and she always wondered what had happened to him, even though she didn't really know him. Three years later when Lisa saw Solomon's photo at her dentist's office she hit upon a plan which she hoped would help both of them. Lisa decided she would befriend Solomon and help him get over his anxiety about leaving the house then she would write about her experiences in her college scholarship application hoping to secure a coveted full-ride offer. The only person who knows about her plan, at least at first, is Lisa's boyfriend, Clark, and he tries to talk her out of it.

After Lisa (and Clark) befriend Solomon they find that they have a lot in common and really enjoy hanging out with him. But, as in a lot of YA novels, a love triangle develops, but because of miscommunication it just about destroys everything for everyone.

I appreciate several aspects of this book. First, Whaley writes likable, engaging characters. and these teens grow as they go through experiences. All the characters are multi-faceted, with the possible exception of Lisa's friend Janey. She was an important part of the story, but I didn't like her. Secondly, the adults in the story are present, helpful, and loving, for the most part. This is a rarity in YA lit. Thirdly, Whaley seems to understand that a person who has an anxiety disorder isn't necessarily "crazy". Neal Shusterman, author of Challenger Deep, my favorite YA book last year, and father of a young man who has struggled with mental illness, wrote in his review of Highly Illogical Behavior in the NYT,

Whaley portrays these characters with the same sensitivity and honesty he brought to his previous novels... These are people you feel you know, or wish you knew, or are slightly afraid to know, but you’re drawn to all the same. He conveys the plight of an agoraphobic teenager with deep empathy — in spite of what Lisa thinks, Solomon is not broken. He’s a kid with a formidable problem, who has shaped his life into a workaround that keeps him happy, and functional. (Shusterman, NYT, May 5, 2016)

I really like how Shusterman frames the issue. Solomon is "not broken, he has a formidable problem but he is happy and functional." In the end we end up rooting for Solomon to make it out of the house, for Lisa to do what is right, and for Clark to own up to his issues, too. We also figure out that the title refers to all three of the teenagers who need to learn how to navigate through mistakes as they make their way toward maturity.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars. I checked the book out from my public library.

2017 Printz Award Contenders

13 / 35 books. 37% done!

-Anne

Classic Club Spin #13

It's that time again for the Classics Club Spin.

What is the spin?

It’s easy. By next Monday, June 6, list your choice of any twenty Classic books you'd like to read.

This is your Spin List. You have to read one of these twenty books in June & July.  So, try to challenge yourself. For example, you could list five Classics Club books you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice (favorite author, rereads, ancients — whatever you choose.)

Next Monday, Classic Club will report, and I will report here, a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List, by August 1, 2016. 

UPDATE:  The Spin has happened.  Scroll down to see the number.

Here is my list:

	Title	Author
1	Little Women	Alcott, Louisa May
2	Bastard Out of Carolina	Allison, Dorothy
3	Agnes Grey	Bronte, Anne
4	Kindred	Butler, Octavia
5	Death Comes for the Archbishop	Cather, Willa
6	And Then There Were None	Christie, Agatha
7	Out of Africa	Dinesen, Isak
8	Jamaica Inn	DuMaurier, Daphne
9	Middlemarch	Eliot, George
10	Cranford	Gaskill, Elizabeth
11	Interpreter of Maladies	Lahiri, Jhumpa
12	West With the Night	Markham, Beryl
13	Anne of Avonlea	Montgomery, L.M.
14	Suite Francais	Nimerovsky, Irene
15	A Good Man is Hard to Find and other...	O’Connor, Flannery
16	Gilead	Robinson, Marianne
17	Wild Sargasso Sea	Rhys, Jean
18	Mrs. Dalloway	Woolf, Virginia
19	To the Lighthouse	Woolf, Virginia
20	Bread Givers	Yezierksa, Anzia

As per usual there are books on the list I really hope I get because of a recent interest and those I dread getting, usually related to length. We'll see how it turns out soon. For this spin I am combining this challenge with Read Classic Women Authors Challenge so you will notice that all the authors I've listed are female.

You can join me.  Make a list of 20 classic books you would like to read or reread. Number them 1-20. Wait for the spin. On Monday, June 6th the spin number will be announced.  Check that number against your list. That is the book you will read. Due date (can you tell I'm a librarian?) is August 1st.

Make a comment below if you will be joining me and I will try to support you and your reading goal. Or feel free to hop over to the Classics Club Page and sign up officially with them. Welcome.

Update, Monday, June 6th...The spin number is 15.

I will be reading my very first Flannery O'Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Oddly, on Friday, as I was shelving other library books I pulled this O'Connor book out and set it on my desk in the back office. I must have had a premonition. The book contains ten short stories. I don't anticipate I will even crack it until after the end of the school year in late June. I also hope to read West With the Night by Beryl Markham just because I am obsessed with this author right now.

Read my reviews:
A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories
West With the Night