The County Library discussion
Reading Challenges
>
2022 November Reading Challenge
date
newest »
newest »
I selected 3 picture books to look at and see if any fit the bill. This is a really interesting challenge!
It is an interesting challenge. The book I am going to read is
Legends, Icons & Rebels: Music That Changed the World I can't wait to listen to the CD's that also come with this book.
Mod
Oooh so many possibilities!
Elizabeth wrote: "Debbie, you'll need to let me know if the picture books worked out! I like Misti Copeland's Firebird."I loved that and, if there were no others to read, I'd have read it again.
Mod
I loved that and, if there were no others to read, I'd have read it again."
I also really enjoyed When Langston Dances. So cool!
For this challenge I am thinking about reading As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. My family has a tradition of watching The Princess Bride every Daylight Savings, so that would be a great book to read this month.I would also really like to read Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton about the making of the Harry Potter movies, but I am pretty far down the wait-list for the library holds on that one, so probably won't be able to do that this month.
I kinda forgot to check the last few months on this challenge but I remembered today! AND I actually listened to a book today that works! Music is History by Questlove.
Brittany wrote: "For this challenge I am thinking about reading As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. My family has a tradition of wa..."Actually, the book is ordered but not yet received by the library. You can tell because the title of the book in the online catalog is in all caps. When it is no longer in all caps, they have received the book, but it may still be over a month before the book is finished going through processing to get it ready to put out on the shelf and fill the first hold requests.
Unable to choose among the 3 books I got from the library, I decided to read them all. They are children's books so it's not an unreasonable decision. I read:Discovery in the Cave by Mark Dubowski ( Review )
Vincent's Colors by Vincent van Gogh ( Review )
Sandy's Circus: A Story About Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee Stone ( Review )
I enjoyed them all, but i particularly liked Sandy's Circus.
I am planning on reading Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy by Misty Copeland. I might also try to read her biography (Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina) if I have time.
Brittany wrote: "For this challenge I am thinking about reading As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. My family has a tradition of wa..."That was pretty good. I checked out the audiobook from the library, read by Cary himself, and most of the interviews are read by those people as well.
I finished Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy by Misty Copeland last night. The illustrations were gorgeous! That being said, it was a bit tedious to read because the author chose to focus on only the ballet stats of each individual. It got a bit repetitive. I would have loved to get a little more insight into the actual lives of the dancers represented in this book.
Mod
Oh, that is a bit disappointing.
Greg wrote: "I'm reading The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures
by Paul Fischer."
What did you think of it? Being a fan of Tesla myself, I'm not a fan of Edison and see him as much a charlatan as an inventor.
We'll see what else comes up during November, but I remembered a picture book I have that would fit this challenge and sat down to reread it this morning: Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen.
Debbie wrote: "What did you think of it? Being a fan of Tesla myself, I'm not a fan of Edison and see him as much a charlatan as..."I rather liked it. 4 stars. If you're not an Edison fan, you'll probably like it all the more. It really makes the case for Le Prince and against Edison.
That said, it's not that much about Edison. And the case for Edison as assassin or participant of a plot of murder for hire is pretty weak. And (spoiler alert)...the very end of the book very briefly lays out a much more credible theory.
It does a really good job of laying out all the pieces of the invention of motion pictures, all the things that different people did before the invention of the motion picture camera so that it could be realized. It sets the scene really, really well.
I just started Keep Moving by Dick van Dyke. I can already tell this is one that will be uplifting .
Probably off topic, but is anyone else reading The Big Library Read? My seven year old and I are listening to it together and he can't put it down! I'm enjoying it, too. It's called A Snake Falls to Earth.
I'm reading Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits, about Native Americans trying to get their artifacts and relatives bodies back from museums.
JoAnn wrote: "Probably off topic, but is anyone else reading The Big Library Read? My seven year old and I are listening to it together and he can't put it down! I'm enjoying it, too. It's called A Snake Falls t..."I am planning on reading A Snake Falls to Earth for another challenge this month. I haven't started it yet, but I am glad to hear it is a good read.
Mod
That is SUCH an interesting topic. I watched a documentary that was attached to a PBS adaptation of a Tony Hillerman novel from a local Arizona PBS station all about that issue. It made me curious when the laws went into effect in Utah around that specific topic, and I can't find it now, but I remember reading that we placed an antiquities law on the books, but allowed people to keep selling things they found until 2014, which was like 20 years after they made the law.
(The dates are not accurate, I did go looking for the timeline, but I can't find it again).
I also read an article about the Elgin marbles, Greece, and the British museum that was fascinating.
Got a hold of another book I wanted to read that fit this challenge, the new picture book by Julie Andrews and her daughter: The First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi. You learn about the monk, Guido d'Arezzo, who helped create the system of musical notation we use. It also talks about the daily life of Benedictine monks and, of course, the famous "Do-Re-Me" from "The Sound of Music".
Elizabeth,It's fascinating and harrowing to read about how the Native Americans are still treated. For them, the Smithsonian is the country's largest internment place because they have more than 18,500 bodies of Native American people there. Museums around the country have living people's relatives in storage. In a museum display, one woman saw a beaded burial item her mother made for someone else. It was grave robbed. A man saw a piece of his grandfather's pipe that was also stolen. The whole thing is disturbing and the excuses the museum directors give for not returning family members and their belongings is infuriating.
Mod
It's fascinating and harrowing to read about how the Native Americans are still treated. For them, the Smithsonian is the country's largest internment place because they have more than 1..."
Yes, it is infuriating. When you start reading the stories from the effected groups.
I just finished As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. I listened to the audiobook and loved Cary Elwes' narration. It was great! I learned a lot about movie-making, as well as a lot about one of my favorite films.
Brittany wrote: "I just finished As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. I listened to the audiobook and loved Cary Elwes' narration. I..."I loved that book!
Mod
I finished
. This was a very fascinating book about 27 different musical artists. I learned some interesting facts about some of my favorites. It came with 2 CD's that had one song from each of the musical artists highlighted in the book.
Linda wrote: "I finished . This was a very fascinating book about 27 different musical artists. I learned some interesting facts about so..."Who were some of the artists?
Brittany wrote: "I just finished As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. I listened to the audiobook and loved Cary Elwes' narration. I..."Sounds like I would enjoy this. I had avoided it since There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale by Sean Astin (who played Sam in the Lord of the Rings movies) was such a hugely boring disappointment.
Elizabeth wrote: "I need to read that. It's still on my TBR list."Get the audio version.
Debbie wrote: "Linda wrote: "I finished . This was a very fascinating book about 27 different musical artists. I learned some interesting ..."Some of the artists featured in this book were: Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Louis Armstrong, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Carole King and sooo many more. The authors are all musicians and still involved in the industry.
Just remembered to check this for this month, and I’m reading How Art Made the World for Nonfiction November, which I think will work super well for this :)
Mod
That sounds fun. Remember to let me know when you finish too, so you can be entered into the prize drawing!
I ended up reading three books that fit this month's challenge, just by chance :)As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys M. Hunt
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
Mod
Elizabeth wrote: "Can you all believe it's the last Day of November all ready? I can't! Make sure you let me know what you've read, so you can enter into the drawing."It's the first day of December...any word on a December challenge?
(some of us are very antsy!)
Mod
It's the first day of Decemb..."
I posted one yesterday, but I don't know what happened to it! I had included a lot of links, and I think Goodreads thought it was Spam, and didn't actually post it. Check out the December challenge, and I'll see if I can add some links as comments.
Thanks for the heads up. I thought it was all good.
Mod
Congratulations!
The County Library
Books mentioned in this topic
Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America's Culture (other topics)The Complete Phantom of the Opera (other topics)
Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard (other topics)
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride (other topics)
Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Chip Colwell (other topics)Tom Felton (other topics)
Gladys M. Hunt (other topics)
Cary Elwes (other topics)
Cary Elwes (other topics)
More...
Here are some books you might enjoy:
Acts of Light: Martha Graham in the Twenty-first Century
Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective
Mary Cassatt: Painter of Modern Women
Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces
Ansel Adams: An Autobiography
Becoming Michelangelo: Apprenticing to the Master, and Discovering the Artist through His DrawingsThe Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright
Good luck!