7 degrees

[Melissa]

You've all heard the Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon? How about we give it a try but with books?

This challenge will be open from August 1st through the rest of the year. Read seven books (or as many as you can) using the Kevin Bacon idea.

So pick your first book and once you finish that book you have to pick your next book based off of some connection to the book you just read.

I'm interested to see how the first book compares to the last.

Any questions?

[Melissa]

I am going to start with the oldest book on my TBR list and see what happens. (Its also our quarterly read so 2 books one stone!)

Till We Have Faces

[Karin]

Hmm...this sounds interesting. If I find time, I will give it a shot.

[Lea Ann]

Hmm...this DOES sound kind of intriguing. Okay, I'm going to give it a go.

[Karin]

As Lea pointed out in the 12 Book thread, I have apparently started my 7 degrees challenge.

The first book of my 7 degree challenge was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which I read on August 2nd.

The second book of my 7 degree challenge is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which I am currently reading. This book is a retelling of Oz.

[Melissa]

Good job ladies!

I like how you are multi-tasking your challenges!

[Lea Ann]

Okay, I'm starting my seven degrees with The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. this book was written by a teacher in Texas who has mastered the art of getting kids, particularly older students, to foster a love of reading. I sped through this book in 24 hours, and I think it may substantially change how I teach reading in my own classroom. Anyway, in the book she lists several novels to include in a classroom library, so I'm probably going to pick one of those to read next.

[Melissa]

I finished Till We Have Faceswhich is a retelling of the story of Cupid & Psyche told from Psyche's "ugly sister" Orual's view point. Psyche was so beautiful that her beauty brought her trouble from mortals and gods both.

With that in mind I am going to read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister next.

[Lea Ann]

I'm starting Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits, by the same author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child.

[Melissa]

I finished Confessions of an Ugly Stepsisterwhich took me forever to get into and finish for some reason.

This was a retelling of Cinderella in Gregory Magquire style so it was told from the "ugly" stepsisters view point and mixed the story up.

So I am going to bounce over to Beauty and the Werewolfwhich is a retelling of a mix of Beauty and the Beast mixed in with Little Red Riding Hood. It sounds like a fun book to read.

[Lea Ann]

Okay, I'm restarting this because I kind of started with books that I can't find anyplace to go with. I'm starting with . It is about a young boy who becomes an apprentice to a painter in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance. I'm going to follow that up with . In this story the boy time travels to the Renaissance period (among others) to solve a mystery.

[Melissa]

I finished Beauty and the Werewolfthe beauty had to help break the curse that turned her hero into a beast of a werewolf.

I liked that rather than the typical happily ever after of breaking the curse that they only altered it so that rather than a mad werewolf he transformed into a happy wolf he could control. It was a nice twist.

With thoughts of mad werewolfs that leads me to book 4 which is a different type of book but rather the reverse of this one, a loyal dog turned beast.

[Lea Ann]

Seven Degrees Challenge

1. , a book about a young apprentice to an artist in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance. This book led me to...
2. , about a boy who has to time travel to save his father. One of the adventures he has is with an artist in Bruges, Belgium also during the Renaissance. Another adventure he has is during the Battle of Verdun during WWI, so the next title I'm tacking is...
3. SUCH a great book filled with moving stories centered around World War I. Each story, written by popular authors, is inspired by what looks like a museum artifact from the war. Great read.
4. A lot of the major battles mentioned in my last book took place in France. France is also the setting for . In this book a girl travels to France with some classmates and has to stop a murderous ghost before it's too late. She also has to deal with "mean girl" friends, comes to terms with her parents splitting up, learns the true meaning of friendship and has a summer romance.
5. In the book, , we see some similar themes. The main character, Wren, spends time at a summer camp with a girl, Darra, who is secretly linked to a traumatic event in her past. The two become friends (more "meaning of friendship stuff"), Darra has to come to terms with her parents' divorce, and also has a bit of a summer romance.
6. Another book that speaks of an unlikely friendship is where the main character has to buddy up with two unlikely friends in order to survive. This book is written by Lauren Tarshis who also wrote...
7. , a story of a boy who realizes his own strength through surviving the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.

[Lea Ann]

I've got five linked. Two to go. This is harder than it looks.

[Lea Ann]

Okay, the last two books on my list weren't read in order, but I did read them during the time period specified. This challenge was much harder than I expected, but I enjoyed it. Probably the only one I'll complete this year. lol

[Melissa]

I am carrying this over from last year so that those who didn't finish can and any new people can start over.

[Melissa]

I finished The Beast of Noorwhich is about a brother and sister who go on a quest to break a curse that was caused by one of their ancestors.

So (my daughter tells me) that my next book is going to be The Wishing Spell which is about a brother and sister going on a quest to try to create a wishing spell to get home.

Sounds like a fun read.