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2017 Summer Reading Challenge
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Carolyn
(last edited Jul 07, 2017 07:52PM)
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Jul 07, 2017 07:50PM
Finally got book #2 read: Ada Twist, Scientist. She asks question after question which is important to inventions, engineering, building a better world, and the other topics for this challenge. It reminded me SO much of my niece's questions as she tries to learn about her world.
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Carolyn wrote: "Finally got book #2 read: Ada Twist, Scientist. She asks question after question which is important to inventions, engineering, building a better world, and the other topics for thi..."There are a couple more in that series too-- Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer!
(Couldn't remember if anyone had talked about those yet on this thread but figured a repeat wouldn't hurt-- they're great books!)
Debbie: added to my to read shelf, now to check for library copy.Elizabeth: my 20 month old really LOVES books. His father, grandmother and I read several books to him a day, including the ones I listed. I seriously have no idea how many times we have re-read these to him. He has over 180 books on his Goodreads read shelf and I think he has already passed the "1000 Books by Kindergarten" goal. He is very verbal as a result, I'm sure. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Toot! (his reward for finishing the Summer Reading Program) are two of his favorites.
Lucy Worley is my favorite documentarian. I watch her on YouTube.
I finished Waistcoats and Weaponry, a steampunk novel set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate. It's a fun read. I count it for this challenge because the genre has many inventions in it. I also finished The Paris Architect. Such a promising premise: architect in WWII German occupied France designs factories for the Germans and ingenious hiding places for Jewish people.
Unfortunately, the buildings have more character than the people. I would not have finished it but I didn't want to start over on a new book.
When I have grandkids, I'll start Goodreads shelves for them. I love the idea!
Mod
The Summer 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge runs through August, I know we have a couple finishers already, I hope a few more of you guys complete the challenge. :D
Mod
Trying to keep up with all the book challenges.
I've completed my 2nd and 3rd books (and I'm currently reading my 4th book still...How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character..I've been traveling a lot in July and have taken other books with me on vacation).2nd: Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space This is both a book about engineering (first planes and then space shuttles) and also a book that shows women making the world a better place by getting jobs that had previously been closed to women and to African Americans...and then in turn helping other women to do the same and even advance farther.
3rd book was a picture book that I thought was well worth reading: I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. Ginsburg has worked tirelessly for equality and to bring about change. But perhaps the thing I loved the most about this book is that it points out that Ginsburg and Justice Antonin Scalia have often disagreed with one another. But they listen to each other, point out flaws in the other's argument...and remain good friends. They understand that just because you disagree on an issue doesn't mean you should end a friendship. (Wise counsel!) I've read a few other picture books that could probably count for this challenge such as Ada Twist, Scientist and Ada Lovelace: The Poet of Science but I am not going to count them. I have a couple of other books that look interesting...
Got two more picture books read. I actually want to finish this challenge, and needed a boost. (I've got a longer book going for my last challenge pick.) I read Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect. Both are about creating and building and asking questions. I won't go into detail about my reasons right here, but I liked "Rosie Revere" better of the two. (Not sure which I'd pick out of "Rosie Revere" and "Ada Twist, Scientist" though.)So . . . my four challenge books completed so far are
Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon,
Ada Twist, Scientist,
Rosie Revere, Engineer, and
Iggy Peck, Architect
I am slogging through Truth About Chernobyl by Grigori Medvedev. It's like he tried combining a character study, a memoir, a history lesson, a political overview, and a highly technical scientific paper. It doesn't work.
My 4th and 5th books I found based on recommendations here: Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D and I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. Both really good! Thanks for the suggestions!
I finally finished the challenge. The books I read were:Airman
Mistakes That Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions & How They Came to Be
A High-End Finish
Alexander's Bridge
Fearless
I also read Ada Twist Scientist and some constuction equipment books to my grandson but It felt like cheating to count them.
Mod
I'm reading The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster and combining information from this and the previous Chernobyl book I didn't finish. Well, that was informative and depressing.
First off, the Soviet communist party suppressed information and convinced it's citizens that nuclear energy was perfectly safe. The plant managers were appointed by the communist party as rewards for loyal party behavior. The plant went online without required safety tests so the plant manager's schedule would look good to the higher ups. The party fired the nuclear engineers and replaced them with electrical engineers they payed less. Who, incidentally, knew absolutely nothing about nuclear. The accurate radioactivity detectors were locked in a safe and false low reading detectors were used by the employees.
The (disastrous) safety test hadn't been approved by the party but the manager went ahead with it anyway. The temperature sensor for the internal core was rerouted to give false ok readings. The backup-failsafe-never-ever-ever turn off cooling system (that prevents explosions from overheating nuclear fission) was turned off and powered down. The test was doomed. Failure was the only power outcome.
The plant manager flat out denied the multiple eyewitness reports he received saying the reactor had exploded. He told Moscow it was a minor problem and everything was contained.
Most of the immediate deaths were the employees and firefighters who were steamed and irradiated tried to contain the damage.
The nearby town where the employees and families lived wasn't evacuated for days. Then, they were ordered to bring only 3 days worth of cash and no vital papers (birth certificates, etc).
There were various safety and health committees who recommended good procedures at every step of the process. They were ignored.
I have now completed the challenge:1st: From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers (architecture)
2nd: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (building a better world/invention)
3rd: I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark (building a better world)
4th: How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (building a better world)
5th: The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin (invention/building)
Finished The Woman in the Wall wherein the main character builds a series of secret rooms and passages in her own home and lives in them and isn't seen for years. Very odd.List to date:
1: Rise of the Dungeon Master
2: It's All Absolutely Fine
3: The Woman in the Wall
My final book for the challenge was lighthearted. I watched a Reading Rainbow episode where The Wonderful Towers of Watts was read aloud, like an audio book. An Italian immigrant who lived in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles bought concrete, sand and steel. He collected bits of broken pottery, glass, tiles, seashells, etc. For 30 years he built the towers in his backyard and imbedded all the bits and pieces in the concrete so it sparkles.
Finished! My fifth book was Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, by Gretchen Rubin. All about building a better you by developing (or eliminating) habits.
Mod
Noooooooooooooooo! Don't say that! I'm not ready for September! I'm glad I don't have kids anymore with the stresses of having to deal with start of school!
Mod
Mod
I've been busy with other challenges, but this is what I think fits best:1. Steelheart
Ordinary humans have to innovate and invent to defeat villains with super powers.
2. The Lost Hero
A main character loves to invent.
3. Winchester Mystery House
This short book explains the building of the Winchester Mystery House. Is it okay if it's only 47 pages?
I need your opinion on whether any of these qualify:
Illuminae
Characters have to use hacking skills and quick thinking to survive.
Push
Characters work to build a new, free society
Renegade
An android searches for answers about her existence while trying to hide from her creators.
The Screaming Staircase
The main characters work to rid the country of ghosts and hauntings.
Although I'm not O-fficial, I can answer one question with absolute certainty. The Winchester book would fit. Most of the books I read were shorter (children's picture books tend to be about 32 pages) so there is no reason that one would not.Opinion, based on the descriptions you've given, they seem to match just fine. Yes, you may breathe now.
Mod
Debbie's right. All your books can fit. :D We'll announce the winner on Wednesday!
Mod
Congratulations!
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Mo Willems (other topics)David Macaulay (other topics)
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