The County Library discussion
Reading Challenges
>
2022 Summer Reading Challenge
date
newest »
newest »
message 101:
by
Britt, Book Habitue
(new)
Jul 15, 2022 11:51PM
Plus I just remembered that Fortunately the Milk has pirates...so if you haven't read it yet you should and you can count it!
reply
|
flag
Updated book list
I'm glad I shared this with my son. 
I highly recommend checking this one out.
Beautiful. My son had me read this several times before it had to be returned. 
Freaked me out. I'm glad I didn’t read this with my child.
I did not know this is based on an historical figure. 
Extremely interesting. I had no idea someone had found a way to reseed reefs and that volunteers were actively implementing his technology. 
Disliked, but son loved. 
Enlightening 
Hilarious and based in fact.
My Updated Summer Challenge reading:√ 1. Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul: Amazing Sea Stories and Wyland Artwork to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit - Completed 6/13/2022
√ 2. The Great Quest - Completed 6/23/2022
√ 3. The Prince and the Sea Witch - Completed 6/19/2022
√ 4. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - Completed 6/24/2022
√ 5. We Are Water Protectors - Completed 6/27/22
6. Moby-Dick or, the Whale - Reading - I am a about half way
√ 7. Becoming Lady Lockwood - Completed 7/3/2022
√ 8. The Slave Dancer - Completed 7/4/2022
√ 9. A Ring of Endless Light - Completed 7/17/2022
It's been a while since I read A Ring of Endless Light. I was thinking about re-reading Dragons in the Waters.
Thanks to the challenge of the Nonfiction Pulitzers Group, I've read another book that meets this challenge, too! An Empire on the Edge looks at the lead up to the American Revolution from the British perspective. It was most interesting. It's relevance to ocean is that many of the lead-up events involved travel among Britain, America, India, China, and France, to name but a few. All communication as well as travel between Britain and any other country involved sailing on the ocean.✅ The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery ( Review )
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen A cute story
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up the Ocean by Deborah Diesen Didn't care for it
✅ Ocean: Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty Very clever with fun illustrations
✅ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ( Review )
✅ A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan 7th book in the Wheel of Time series ( Review )
✅ Wrath of Poseidon by Clive Cussler ( Review )
✅ An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America by Nick Bunker ( Review)
Mod
As a reminder, if you are participating in the regular Summer Reading Challenge at your local library branch, you need to turn in your Summer Reading Challenge paper, or finish marking off your events on Beanstack, and return them to the library so we can get you your prizes. You have until July 30 to bring them back, or let us know you finished on Beanstack in person. Get into the library and get yourself a free book, a ticket to the Natural History Museum, a Buy 1, get 1 Free coupon to both Tracy Aviary and Salt Lake County Parks and Rec, and an entry into a prize drawing!
Remember to let me know what you've finished reading, so that you can enter the prize drawing.."Finished!
Below the Edge of Darkness was quite good. That puts me at 10 so I guess I finished twice lol.
Well now, I've read two more. Part of Winter's Heart takes place in Ebou Dar, a port city on the Sea of Storms. One of the main characters gets into a scheme with a ship's captain. (for those who wonder about my listing the 7th and 9th titles from Wheel of Time, what about the 8th, none of the action in the 8th dealt with the ocean nor any body of water.)The relevance of Indianapolis is clear from the full title.
Will I read more? It's not planned, but who knows. I didn't plan half of these!
✅ The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery ( Review )
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen A cute story
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up the Ocean by Deborah Diesen Didn't care for it
✅ Ocean: Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty Very clever with fun illustrations
✅ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ( Review )
✅ A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan 7th book in the Wheel of Time series ( Review )
✅ Wrath of Poseidon by Clive Cussler ( Review )
✅ An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America by Nick Bunker ( Review)
✅ Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan 9th book in the Wheel of Time series ( Review )
✅ Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic (Review)
For July oceanic reads I have finished Little Monsters of the Ocean: Metamorphosis under the WavesWhat a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins
A Song Below Water
The Unsinkable Greta James
The Seas
I finished The Black Pearl. That brings my total to 9 finished and 1 in progress. I am still working on Moby Dick. I am determined to finish it before the end of the summer challenge√ 1. Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul: Amazing Sea Stories and Wyland Artwork to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit - Completed 6/13/2022
√ 2. The Great Quest - Completed 6/23/2022
√ 3. The Prince and the Sea Witch - Completed 6/19/2022
√ 4. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - Completed 6/24/2022
√ 5. We Are Water Protectors - Completed 6/27/22
√ 6. Becoming Lady Lockwood - Completed 7/3/2022
√ 7. The Slave Dancer - Completed 7/4/2022
√ 8. A Ring of Endless Light - Completed 7/17/2022
√ 9. The Black Pearl - Completed 7/27/22
In Progress: Moby-Dick or, the Whale -
Deborah wrote: "I finished The Black Pearl. That brings my total to 9 finished and 1 in progress. I am still working on Moby Dick. I am determined to finish it before the end of the summer challenge..."I applaud you for taking on the big MD! It is one of my favorite books and I've read it several times. But it does take a while to complete. What I've enjoyed about it is that, uniquely, it's a different book each time I've undertaken it. Not because the book alters, of course, but each time I read it, I'm older, wiser, more experienced in life and broader in knowledge about many things. As a result elements I didn't notice in a previous reading suddenly become crystal clear in their importance in the understanding of the whole story.
My favorite is when Melville describes taking a whale and hoisting it up, using the mast as the upper beam. BUT you can't have just one whale pulled up onto the mast and hanging off the side of the ship or the ship will roll over and sink. Instead you need two whales of reasonably similar size hanging on either side of the ship like Hobbs and Locke. I didn't know, until I read the book the third time that Hobbs and Locke were British philosophers at the time. Hobbs was a monarchy absolutist and Locke is considered the father of liberalism. Today one might consider saying Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in comparing opposite political philosophies.
I’ve read one book so far: The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith, which takes place primarily on an Alaskan cruise ship. Smith had written many young adult novels, but this one was written for adults. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.
Finished my 3rd one. Lots more ocean than my rest -- discussion about the British and French navies and their involvement in the end of the American Revolution. In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Mod
Got my fourth one: Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick on audio. Short enough that I could listen to it in the time I would spend on podcasts. Nathaniel Philbrick read it himself which I liked.
[X] 1. The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn[X] 2. Fortunately, the Milk
[X] 3. All the Murmuring Bones
[X] 4. Strong Like the Sea
[X] 5. Middleworld
[X] 6. Hunt for Jade Dragon
[X] 7. Shipwreck
[X] 8. Peter Pan
[X] 9. Magyk
Finished! Just read my 5th book: The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation. Princess Magnolia goes to the beach for a vacation. Or tries to anyway . . .
Just finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and I loved it! So long, but so worth it.Just one book left now! I switched out my choice for my last book, already about 50 pages in.
Summer Reading challenge:
1. Life of Pi - finished
2. Island of the Blue Dolphins - finished
3. Piranesi - finished
4. The Count of Monte Cristo - finished
5. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - in progress
I finally Finished Moby-Dick or, the Whale! It was not really my cup of tea. I felt there was more "filler" than "story". It does have a good moral though. I also read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle bringing me to 11 Ocean related books.
I have a couple more Newberry Award books on deck that fit this prompt as well. (There are actually quite a few Newberry/Newberry Honor Books that are related to the ocean...I was surprised.)
√ 1. Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover's Soul: Amazing Sea Stories and Wyland Artwork to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit - Completed 6/13/2022
√ 2. The Great Quest - Completed 6/23/2022
√ 3. The Prince and the Sea Witch - Completed 6/19/2022
√ 4. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - Completed 6/24/2022
√ 5. We Are Water Protectors - Completed 6/27/22
√ 6. Becoming Lady Lockwood - Completed 7/3/2022
√ 7. The Slave Dancer - Completed 7/4/2022
√ 8. A Ring of Endless Light - Completed 7/17/2022
√ 9. The Black Pearl - Completed 7/27/22
√ 10. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Completed 8/6/2022
√11. Moby-Dick or, the Whale - Completed 8/13/22
√12. The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter - Completed 8/15/22
On Deck: Call It Courage
On Deck: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
On Deck: The Whale Rider
Mod
If you enjoyed that, you MAY enjoy the Bloody Jack series by L. A. Mayer. I think I read about 7 or so in the series, but I think there were 12.
Mod
I completed the challenge last night! Woohoo!Summer Reading challenge:
1. Life of Pi - finished
2. Island of the Blue Dolphins - finished
3. Piranesi - finished
4. The Count of Monte Cristo - finished
5. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea - finished
I also read a number of ocean themed picture books with my toddler. Her favorite right now is Save Your Friends! where you have to save the sea creatures from being eaten by a shark.
Elizabeth wrote: "I LOVE True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. It was definitely a book a reread a lot as a teen. If you enjoyed that, you MAY enjoy the Bloody Jack series by L. A. Mayer. I think I read about 7 or ..."
I will look them up! Thanks for the suggestion.
Brittany wrote: "I completed the challenge last night! Woohoo!Summer Reading challenge:
1. Life of Pi - finished
2. Island of the Blue Dolphins - finished
3. [book:Piranesi|50202953..."
In this group you can count the picture books you read as part of the challenge.
Mod
Elizabeth wrote: "You absolutely can count Picture Books!"I'd be in serious trouble if you couldn't!
Adding one more, Where the Crawdads Sing was wonderful! ✅ The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery ( Review )
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen A cute story
✅ The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up the Ocean by Deborah Diesen Didn't care for it
✅ Ocean: Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty Very clever with fun illustrations
✅ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt ( Review )
✅ A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan 7th book in the Wheel of Time series ( Review )
✅ Wrath of Poseidon by Clive Cussler ( Review )
✅ An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America by Nick Bunker ( Review)
✅ Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan 9th book in the Wheel of Time series ( Review )
✅ Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic (Review)
✅ Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ( Review )
So heartbreakingly beautiful--I LOVE Gary D. Schmidt!
Just a few days till the end of August and the Summer Challenge. Do we have a topic for September?
Inquiring minds want to know. (I like to plan ahead)
Mod
I completed the challenge today. My "oceans of possibilities" reads were as follows:The Unsinkable Greta James
Gift from the Sea
Olive's Ocean
Float Plan
and The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story
I love the ocean. This was a fun challenge!
Mod
Congratulations!
The County Library
Books mentioned in this topic
Magyk (other topics)Gift from the Sea (other topics)
The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story (other topics)
Float Plan (other topics)
Olive's Ocean (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Deborah Diesen (other topics)Shelby Van Pelt (other topics)
Delia Owens (other topics)
Sy Montgomery (other topics)
Stacy McAnulty (other topics)
More...
