#Bloggiesta End

Probably the biggest shock for me was that it was all fun! I kind of went in with the same attitude I would having studying for a final--grab some snacks, get a few friends to study with, pull an all-nighter, get done what needed to get done, make it as painless as possible. You know, a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. But I really enjoyed myself. It made me wish I could spend a large chunk of time each day on my blog, but that is just impossible right now. Maybe at least I could pick one day a week that is "blog day."

Anyway, enough rambling. As I said before, I'm horrible at the timing thing. I had a little timer so I could keep track, but I would go do something else and forget to turn it off, or when I started again I would forget to turn it on. Plus after 99 minutes it restarts at 0 and that got me all messed up. I'm not real great with numbers in any way, shape, or form. I'm guessing I participated about 16 hours, and my goal was 18. But maybe I did 18--I'll never really know.

Anyway, enough rambling. I mean it this time. Here's what I accomplished, and what I didn't accomplish:

High Priority Reviews
Dear Mr. Henshaw
A Visit to William Blake's Inn
A Gathering of Days
Ginger Pye
Monique and the Mango Rains (to be published Tuesday, June 23)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (to be published Wednesday June 24)
Ireland (to be published Monday, June 22)
Omnivore's Dilemma
So Brave, Young and Handsome
Briar Rose
(Post reviews on Newbery challenge site)

Lower Priority
Officially sign up for a couple of challenges I've been eying:
Narnia Challenge
Summer Reading Challenge (scheduled to publish Sunday, June 21)
Take a Chance

Update challenges on sidebar

Other reviews:
Larklight
Sammy Keyes books
Anne of Avonlea
Ten Star Trek episode reviews for 42 Challenge
Exercise DVD review for fitness blog

Housekeeping
Change name of book blog?
Figure out how to get the date back on family blog
Change layout of family blog
Update garden blog

Challenges Completed
Clean up your feedreader (Book Lady's Blog)
Grade Your Blog (Bookish Ruth)
Opinions and Lists (Beth Fish Reads)
Go Forth and Comment (Fizzy Thoughts)
Update a key page or post (Devourer of Books)

I don't know if my reviews are coherent. I found myself losing it on spelling as the time went on. I plan to try to do at least one of these each day until they're done.

Thank you Natasha for putting this on. Great idea! It was very organized and I really liked how the challenges were available throughout the whole challenge. Muy bien!

Bloggiesta Update

Well it's Saturday morning, and here are my thoughts halfway through Bloggiesta:

• I feel good already that I got some reviews done. I've learned that my blog isn't fun anymore when I get too far behind!
• I'm horrible at keeping track of time. I don't even know how many hours I worked yesterday, maybe 8? I'm just going to focus on my list.
• I ate too much yesterday. Must watch that today!!!
• I love a lot of the bloggers out there that spend the time to make their blogs excellent and try to expand their readership. They're awesome! I'm just not one of them. My blog is very casual and that's okay with me. I do love the visitors, comments and followers I get, though. But I think if I had too many, it would stress me out!!!
• Focusing on my blog so much is much more conducive to responding to comments. I really love to do that, but am often distracted by other things.
  

So before I begin another day of blog tasks, I'm going to take a shower and try to look decent. (I can often see my reflection in my laptop, and it can be scary at times.)

Spring Reading Thing Complete

Just in the nick of time I have finished the Spring Reading Thing hosted by Callapidder Days. Incidentally, we've had really cloudy weather for a couple of weeks, and now that summer is upon us, the sun has come out. I actually liked the gloomy weather, but what can I do?

Here's what I read for the challenge. I picked out some Newbery Award winners so I could make a dent in that list:

A Single Shard by Park
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Cleary
A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Willard
A Gathering of Days by Blos
Ginger Pye by Estes
I, Juan de Pereja by Trevino

My favorites were A Single Shard and Ginger Pye.
Now I'm off to officially sign up for a summer challenge! The madness never ends!

Ginger Pye

Author: Eleanor Estes

Originally published : 1951 (Harcourt Brace & World)
Length: 306 pages
Awards: Newbery Medal 1952
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Rating: 4/5 (74 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 690 ratings, 3.87 average rating

If I give a short description of this book from Goodreads--

"Meet Ginger Pye, the smartest dog you'll ever know. Jerry Pye and his sister, Rachel, feel pretty smart themselves for buying Ginger. It was the best dollar they ever spent. Ginger steals everybody's heart . . . until someone steals him!--

you might think what I thought: "Why would I want to read a dog story?" I don't really like dog stories. The ones I have read have been either a little boring (Shiloh) or traumatic (Stone Fox-read aloud, big mistake). Or certain movies come to mind that require boxes upon boxes of tissue (Old Yeller, Marley and Me). I just wanted to give this a try because it's stamped with that gold Newbery seal.
Surprisingly, I loved it. It's quirky. It's funny. I loved the story. And the dog isn't really in the story that much because, well, he gets stolen. That sounds heartless, I know. But I think with the whole mood of the story you know that everything will be okay in the end. It is not without its tragic moments, but I think that's what makes it into a great book rather than just a good one. It was refreshing to read a Newbery that was just simply a wonderful story written wonderfully well.

A Gathering of Days

Author: Joan W. Blos

Originally published : 1979 (Prentice Hall)
Length: 144 pages
Awards: Newbery Medal 1980
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 3/5
Amazon Rating: 3/5 (40 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 253 ratings, 3.64 average rating

This Newbery winner is exactly what the title suggests--a gathering of journal entries throughout the course of over a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old New Hampshire girl named Catherine. Because it has the feel of an authentic diary of the time period, this would be great in an educational sense to give students a picture of life in the 1830's. Details about the food, traditions, household chores, etc. were interesting. As a story, however, it seemed rather flat. I kept expecting the story to take off in certain directions (like more about the "mysterious phantom" that Catherine leaves the quilt for) and then being disappointed when I realized that wasn't what the story was about! But I don't think that's what the author intended. From the author's note at the end I gather that she primarily wanted to provide a close-up view of life back then. And if the story is a little boring, well, so is life more often than not.

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Author: Beverly Cleary

Originally published : 1983 (Harper Collins)
Length: 144 pages
Awards: Newbery Medal 1984
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 4/5
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (158 Customer Reviews)
Goodreads: 2,831 ratings, 3.74 average rating

Leigh Botts is the new kid in school, his parents have recently divorced, and he has to deal with a mysterious thief who is taking all the yummy stuff out of his lunch. How will he cope? He has been writing to his favorite author since second grade, and finds help in getting his feelings and frustrations down on paper--first directly to the author, and then eventually in his diary.

From laugh-out-loud moments to heart-rending ones, this book really captured my heart. I think I was a little surprised at that. It was very honest and poignant, with a realistic but happy ending. In the end I think Leigh learns that life is complicated, but he can handle it. All and all, I "licked" it. (You have to have read the book to get that and not think I'm totally disgusting.)

A Visit to William Blake's Inn

Author: Nancy Willard

Originally published : 1981 (Harcourt Brace, & Co.)
Length: 45 pages
Awards: Newbery Medal 1982
Personal Enjoyment Rating: 3/5
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (15 Customer Reviews
GoodReads Rating: 96 ratings, 4.26 average rating

Inspired by her love for William Blake's poetry, Willard has written a collection of fanciful poems about an imaginary inn that Blake runs that is visited by some unusual characters, mostly animals.

These are meant to be read aloud, but I didn't. An appreciation for William Blake may enhance a reader's enjoyment, but I don't have one (yet). I did love the words and the rhythm of the poetry, but I must admit it was hard to focus on the subject of each poem. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be "The Marmalade Man Makes a Dance to Mend Us," in which the animals are encouraged to come together because "Dancing starts where fighting ends." I could definitely sense the author's talent, but I didn't necessarily enjoy it. I do feel that a poem needs to be read multiple times to really get to the heart of it (flashbacks of AP English test prep), but I don't see myself taking the time, and I don't see children taking the time either. But they may simply enjoy the sound and rhythm of each poem, and that will be enough.
My recommendation: This collection is worth a peek if only to see if you like it. It's quick to read through, but I would definitely suggest reading it out loud.