raidergirl3 update: Ender's Game and Number the Stars

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
recommended by Becky and Karlene

winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula award

Great science fiction book, even though I seldom read sci-fi. Andrew Ender Wiggem is the child hero, chosen to save the world from the next bugger attack, sure to decimate the Earth. He is rather brutally trained to be a commander, and his struggle to accept his role at command school and within his family, is an interesting read about self and solitude. Thanks for the suggestion, I quite enjoyed it.

full review on my blog

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Newbery Winner 1990

recommended by booklogged

Thanks for the book recommendation, and not just because it is a short, children's book. That made it easy to pick up, but the story of what makes bravery was touching as well. Lowry tells the story of a girl during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in the early 1940s, and choices made by the Danes to smuggle Jews out of their country. It was another terrific read from these lists of books.

full review is here at my blog

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Red Tent is one of SarahMiller's selections for this challenge. Sarah said about this novel: "This is the type of story I love best -- strong characters, strong relationships, and terrific writing. I'm also fascinated by books that dig into the nooks and crannies of well-known stories and bring out something new." I think this is a good summary of this book, and my review is below (and cross-posted on my blog).
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In Genesis 34, there is a brief mention of Dinah, the sole daughter of Jacob, who was taken and violated by an Egyptian prince, who then fell in love with her and asked Jacob for his blessing of their marriage. It is this very small Biblical mention that is the foundation to Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent.

Diamant first tells the story of Jacob’s four wives, who were all sisters, whose lives revolve around “the red tent” where they spent three days menstruating among a commune of women. Dinah is born to Jacob’s first wife, Leah, and becomes a young member of this all-female tour de force. In the red tent, Dinah learns about goddesses of the earth, fertility and childbirth. The strength and differences of her four mothers develop Dinah into a smart, resourceful woman – skills that she will use later in her life.

As Dinah gets older, she learns the trade of midwifery, which brings her into an Egyptian city where she meets her first husband, the Egyptian prince. Diamant tells their story as one of love, not rape, and when her husband is brutally murdered by her brothers, she chooses to disown her beloved family and settles into Egypt.

The Red Tent is an interesting story of Biblical women, their fertility and birthing rites, and early forms of midwifery – a respected profession for women of this era. Overall, I found the story to be a smart and engaging read. Readers of Biblical fiction and women’s literature will definitely want to check out this novel.

Tracon by Paul McElroy

Twiga's Review:

This book was on Lisa's list and is actually the reason I decided to sign up for the challenge. I had this book already in my TBR pile so I knew that there would be at least 1 book that I would want to read for the challenge.

I enjoy aviation-related books and this book is about the life and job of an air traffic controller. Highly stressful yet the main character loves what he does and enjoys the challenge and adrenaline of "pushing tin". However, his worst nightmare happens when a mid-air collision occurs and they must try to find out the truth behind why the accident happened. Was it the computer system or a human error?

I enjoyed this book, there was some mystery and romance in it. It was interesting to read about what is involved in the job of being an air traffic controller. Not a job I would want!

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

i finished The Undomestic Goddess yesterday as part of the challenge. it was one of Margo's picks. this was a super funny book and i immensely enjoyed it. it is the story a high-powered London lawyer who realizes that she has made a grave career error and subsequently runs off to the country and somehow finds herself becoming a housekeeper. this is a book that will make you laugh out loud and it is thoroughly delicious. i especially love the cooking bits. my full review is here. margo said she chose this book because she likes to laugh and it helped her get through a difficult period. what i have learned about margo: she has a great sense of humor and really likes to laugh. also the main character is really really smart and can think quickly on her feet. so i will also say that margo is intelligent and can think her way out of situations.

i highly recommend this book. :)

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

i finished The Undomestic Goddess yesterday as part of the challenge. it was one of Margo's picks. this was a super funny book and i immensely enjoyed it. it is the story a high-powered London lawyer who realizes that she has made a grave career error and subsequently runs off to the country and somehow finds herself becoming a housekeeper. this is a book that will make you laugh out loud and it is thoroughly delicious. i especially love the cooking bits. my full review is here. margo said she chose this book because she likes to laugh and it helped her get through a difficult period. what i have learned about margo: she has a great sense of humor and really likes to laugh. also the main character is really really smart and can think quickly on her feet. so i will also say that margo is intelligent and can think her way out of situations.

i highly recommend this book. :)

The Amateur Marriage - 3M's Review

Crossposted at my new website, 1morechapter.com.

In memory of Nattie.

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler outlines the lives and marriage of Michael and Pauline Anton from World War II to the present day. We see their joys and trials in courtship, marriage, children, and death.

It's hard to review the book without giving spoilers away, but the book basically follows a difficult marriage. Or was it, really? Was it really much different than most marriages? Aren't even "good" marriages difficult at times? These are the questions the book raises.

This was a very readable book that I finished in a day, and I would have very much liked to discuss it with a group. I've read one other book by Anne Tyler, Saint Maybe (which I also liked), and I'll be seeking out more.

2004, 306 pp.

Rating: 4

a.book.in.the.life review- The Penderwicks

Firstly here is my list of choices from other peoples books as I don't think I had posted it yet!
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (F) chosen by Kristin. I have also wanted to read another McEwan after enjoying Atonement so this seemed a perfect time to try another.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (F) chosen by Pattie. I have started a restarted this book several times and really want to finish it, so this will help me along.
- The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (F) chosen by Julie. As a teacher I am always looking out for new children’s books and I really liked the sound of this one.
- Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (F) chosen by Lucca. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird recently and looking up the life of Harper Lee I was interested by her friendship with Capote.
- The World According to Garp by John Irving (F) chosen by Dewey and Chasida. I have seen Irving mentioned a few times on other people’s blogs and again thought this would be an ideal time to try him out!

I have just finished the first of my books for the challenge which was The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. This book was chosen by Julie who says "The Penderwicks, a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits and a very interesting boy I was an only child and wished I had a fun family like this to grow up around"

I really enjoyed this book, as a primary school teacher I am always looking for new treasures to read to my classes! My full review is here and so on to the rest of the books in the challenge.

p.s. I hope I did this right!