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Reading Challenges
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2017 Summer Reading Challenge
Yay. This is different for me and I think it'll be fun.
I decided to read one book from each category. This is my list as of right now and it's subject to change. Building : Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Castle. What I wanted but couldn't find is Five Dolls in a House- a girl shrinks herself down to doll size and knocks on her dollhouse door to visit. They think she is the landlady and harangue her to make repairs. That just tickles me.
Architecture: City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction by David Macaulay, lol.
Inventions: Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Engineering: something about Chernobyl or a Star Trek novel focused on B'Elanna Torres or Geordi LaForge (they are both Chief Engineers).
Building A Better World: You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer because in my experience women's rights make the world better.
Mod
Great list, Teresa, I may steal some of your ideas!
I hope my list gave others ideas. I'm excited to see everyone else's picks.
The first 2 that I have chosen are Airman by Eoin Colfer Where the character has to design and build and aircraft to escape andMistakes That Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions & How They Came to Be.
I am excited to hear other suggestions
Utah writer J. Scott Savage has a YA book about a place where inventing is forbidden, Fires of Invention.
I think my first pick will be Jeffrey Kluger's new book "Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon." It took a lot of effort from engineers and others to get those men into space in the first place.
For Five Dolls in a House, you can get it from the County Library through InterLibrary Loan. Steps:From the Search dropdown, choose Keyword.
Enter the title, Search by choose Title and Limit by, choose Book
Click on Go and the County's list will appear
Click on Borrow from another library (because you already know County does not have it.
A window pops up, put a check mark by Borrow From Another Library and click on Continue
It thinks for a minute and on the right side above the first County book is Add Pending Results. Click on that.
Find the one you want and click on Place a Hold.
I've always presumed the ones listed have copies available for loan from the Lending Library.
Wait for your book to come.
TADA
I did each of the steps as I wrote the instructions so they should be accurate for anyone else. I wrote these because I followed the instructions on the County's website and they were not thorough which caused me much frustration.
Debbie, you're right, I forgot about that option. Thanks.
My ideas, so far, for building a better world, a book by my hero Congressman John Lewis Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, and for inventions, Tesla's Attic. I need fiction suggestions for building, architecture, and engineering. I could read some nonfiction or biography but not all the books. I need some fiction! :) No Ayn Rand, please.
Thank you!Audrey wrote: "The Pillars of the Earth?
I also found this on Listopia:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."
Becky, the Architect's Apprentice looks like a good fiction choice.
Mod
https://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/mys...
I really like the Kate Carlisle Fixer-Upper series.
Thanks for the suggestions. I also found these books which appear to qualify for this challenge: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, Alexander's Bridge, Smitten, and https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...,
My husband just read Devil in the White City. It's nonfiction about a serial killer during the Chicago world fair.
Finished Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon for my first book. Fascinating. Still deciding what else to read for this challenge.
Carolyn wrote: "Finished Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon for my first book. Fascinating. Still deciding what else to read for this challenge."That sounds good. I've read Jim Lovell's book about Apollo 13, and that was fascinating.
I have finished Jet Plane: How It Works by David Macaulay. A fun, short book that explains, with words and pictures, the working of a passenger jet plane, from cargo hold to ailerons. Told to a child taking a trip, things she sees on the plane are explained in excellent drawings and clear text. I was also pleased that Mccauley chose to identify the pilot as female. Small steps like this are significant in helping break down the attitude of "mens" vs. "womens" work. It is especially important for boys to see these examples and this is a title to which boys, in particular, will be drawn. On behalf of all women, thank you, Mr. Mccaualey!
My progress so far:1. Jet Plane: How It Works by David Macaulay
Now I have finished Ship by David Macaulay.
Using a fictitious archaeological find as the base, Maccaulay describes the excavation of a spanish ship from the 15th-16th Spanish ship. I was intrigued by the detailing of the methodology both undersea, on the ship and, back on land, at the laboratory where cleaning was undertaken. One of the finds was a diary which places the ship as sailing in 1504, its maiden voyage. The diary also describes the building of the ship allowing Maccaulay's wonderful illustrative drawings of the building of the ship.
Mod
Debbie, Carolyn and Linda, Those all sound like great books that I need to read too. :D
My progress so far:1. Jet Plane: How It Works by David Macaulay
2. Ship by David Macaulay
I have now finished Mosque by David Macaulay. (Do you sense a pattern?) Macaulay describes the means by which a Mosque is funded, designed, sited, and then built in the 16th century. As with all of Macaulay's books, the text is accompanied by wonderful drawings. This one was a bit different from which others because a Mosque, unlike other Macaulay topics, is not so complex in its physical building. But it was wonderful to learn about all the different parts of a faith not particularly familiar to me.
I read Built To Last by David Macaulay. The first section on castles was easily understandable with the accompanying drawings. The second section on cathedrals was fairly understandable. The last section on mosques was confusing due to the inadequate number of pictures and descriptions.
I finished my first book, Cabin: Two Brothers, a Dream, and Five Acres in Maine. This was an enjoyable nonfiction read about a man and his brother and nephews building a cabin, together, in Maine.
Teresa wrote: "I read Built To Last by David Macaulay. The first section on castles was easily understandable with the accompanying drawings. The second section on cathedrals was fairly understandable. The last s..."Looks like that is a collection of 3 of his works. Having read Mosque, it was partly confusing because the names of the different parts were Arabic names and they were hard to keep straight what was what, not being familiar with Arabic nor Islam.
I watched 3 YouTube videos about castle building. I think I deserve extra credit. Lol
Teresa wrote: "I watched 3 YouTube videos about castle building. I think I deserve extra credit. Lol"Me too, you getting extra credit, that is.
Mod
Finished Mistakes That Worked That makes 2 that I have read. Now I have to come up with something else. I may try the fixer-upper mysteries that Elizabeth suggested
I finished my second and third books for the challenge. Inventors: Tesla's Attic, a YA adventure which referenced Nikola Tesla, though not in as great of depth as I'd hoped. Architecture: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, a detailed and interesting nonfiction about the design and building of the Chicago's World Fair of 1893, layered with a story of a serial killer. The description of the first Ferris Wheel was amazing!
Becky wrote: "I finished my second and third books for the challenge. Inventors: Tesla's Attic, a YA adventure which referenced Nikola Tesla, though not in as great of depth as I'd hoped. Archite..."Cool, I'd have not thought Devil in the White City would count. I didn't realize it included descriptions of the design of that World's Fair! Now it's going higher on my "To Read" List. Thanks for the description!
Debbie wrote: "Becky wrote: "I finished my second and third books for the challenge. Inventors: Tesla's Attic, a YA adventure which referenced Nikola Tesla, though not in as great of depth as I'd ..."Debbie, the first 235 pages of "The Devil in the White City" take place prior to the fair opening, so lots of design, bids, architecture, building, landscape architecture, etc. A good fit for this challenge!
I read Where's You Go, Bernadette? which in part talks about Bernadette's past architecture career. Fun read.
Mod
Linda, I really like the Kate Carlisle books. They're fun. The first one is called A High-End Finish.
My Challenge books:1. Jet Plane: How It Works by David Macaulay
2. Ship by David Macaulay
3. Mosque by David Macaulay
4. Pyramid by David Macaulay
5. You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer by Shana Corey
I have now finished my last two titles for the Summer Challenge. Pyramid by David Macaulay described the building of a pyramid for a fictional pharoh. You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer by Shana Corey told about the first forays of Amelia Bloomer to break traditional role definitions for women, including sharing patterns for what came to be known as Bloomers. I didn't know that her idea actually came from someone else she met who was wearing them.
I read Rise of the Dungeon Master, a graphic NONvel (nonfiction graphic novel... thing) about Gary Gygax and the creation of D&D. It deals with building the game, building a company, and building dungeons within the game!Also read It's All Absolutely Fine which talks about mental illness and is, at least to some extent, about (re)building your life.
Mod
Britt, the Rise of the Dungeon Master sounds really cool.
I read my first book for the challenge. From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers is a book about the different architectural styles from before 10,000 B.C. to modern times.
Mod
That sounds really interesting. I might have to check that out. If you enjoyed that, you also might enjoy this documentary If Walls Could Talk - The History of the Home with Lucy Worsley. We have the eaudiobook of it on overdrive. There is also a documentary that was available on youtube for a little while. Not sure if it's still there or not.
I read The Great Fire, about the Chicago fire. It discusses how the building practices of the day contributed to the devastation as well as how Chicago was rebuilt following the disaster.I get to read and reread Toot!, Train!, Richard Scarry's Cars, Maisy's Bus, My First Trucks, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! to my toddler. These vehicles all required lots of engineering, besides my toddler being fascinated by anything that moves on wheels or flies.
I also get to read and reread books by Mo Willems such as Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!, The Pigeon needs a Bath!, Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Elephants Cannot Dance!, which builds my toddler's brain and vocabulary.
I also read him books to build a better world by teaching him to be polite and considerate: The Thank You Book, Time to Say "Please"!, The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
Of course, with a toddler who loves books, and keeps saying "Another one!" it's hard to find time to read for myself.
I'm working on The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, which makes the case for the US economy being built upon the backs of slaves.
I'm working on my 2nd and 3rd books also:I'm reading Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race which is definitely about building a better world as well as engineering. I'd been wanting to read it anyway...and I've put off seeing the movie until I read it...and it works well for this challenge.
And this one is perhaps a unique way to look at the challenge...or at least I didn't plan for this book to be used for the challenge, but as I am listening to it on CD, I think it fits: How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. It's examining the factors that lead to a child's success...it's especially discussing factors often found in poverty that lead to higher stress levels in children and how that impacts their behavior and health. As a parent and a teacher, I am very interested in how I can help my children and my students develop the character traits that will increase their likelihood of success....which will build a better world for them and for all of us.
To be clear, I'm not finished with either of these. I'll post back when I am finished. But I have been trying to figure out what to read for the challenge and was excited as I began listening to the book How Children Succeed (which has been on my to read list for a couple of years) to discover that I think it works for this challenge.
JoAnn wrote: "I read The Great Fire, about the Chicago fire. It discusses how the building practices of the day contributed to the devastation as well as how Chicago was rebuilt following the disas..."For your reference to The Half ..., there is a Pulitzer Prize winning book Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon that covers this topic well. It answers one of the nagging questions I'd always had: if life in the South was so bad, why didn't the folks just move somewhere else. It also answered another question, why in obituaries for blacks is it so often that pre-deceased and surviving relatives are not listed as we do with obits for whites.
Elizabeth, I think the libraries have hit on a winner with this topic. I'm thrilled seeing the heights, depths, and widths of titles our little group is reading. WOW! Great job to all of you who are joining us.!
Mod
I'd say that you are done with the challenge. I love how reading to your little one is building vocabulary, manners an interest in engineering. Maybe one day he'll be an engineer!
Jenny,
Yes, that second book definitely counts. I love it when the thing you want to read ALSO happens to count for the challenge.
Debbie,
I can't claim all the credit. The library is part of the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which picks out themes, including this year's Build a Better World and my coworker helped me design the reading challenge, I didn't want it to be just one thing, since the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge is three months.
Everyone,
Don't forget to come into a library to pick up your Summer Reading Challenge Reading Record. For those who complete the reading record, you get a free book and a ticket to the Natural History Museum! This program ends in July!
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The County Library
Books mentioned in this topic
Time to Say "Please"! (other topics)The Great Fire (other topics)
Toot! (other topics)
Richard Scarry's Cars (other topics)
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Mo Willems (other topics)David Macaulay (other topics)
David McCullough (other topics)
Some non-fiction examples are Castle or Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction by David Macaulay, or The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, or even Stamped Out where the main character is part of an architectural restoration team. If you end up picking a person who you felt built a better world say why in the comments!
Don't forget to come into a library to pick up your Summer Reading Challenge Reading Record. For those who complete the reading record, you get a free book and a ticket to the Natural History Museum!