4 - The Postman by David Brin

I've been meaning to read The Postman for a number of years.  I love post-apocalyptic stories (click here for others I've blogged about).  This one takes place in what was once Oregon, before the Doomwar.  The story is told from the point of view of Gordon Krantz, who was in his twenties when war and plague and famine tore the world apart.  Throughout the story, he travels from town to town dressed as a US Mail Carrier.  The effect his uniform and persona have on the people he meets is fascinating.

My favorite thing about this book might be the circumstances of the apocalypse itself.  There was war, beginning in Eastern Europe.  There were nuclear strikes, and there are still wide swaths of land that "glow".  But the real downfall of society came after, when people in the cities starved and people in the country died of easily prevented or cured plagues, simply because the infrastructure collapsed and people stopped cooperating.  As civilization fell, the survivalists, who were "prepared" and thus lived through the initial onslaughts, began looting, scavenging, pillaging, and enslaving those who were weaker or in need of protection.  Thus in a matter of years the societal structure of North America went from late-twentieth century urban sprawl to a feudal structure more like that of the Dark Ages in Europe.

This book was made into a movie starring Kevin Costner.  I was talking with my movie buff husband about it tonight, and it seems like there were a lot of, shall we say, differences, between the book and the movie.  I'm going to investigate how I might be able to watch it and if I do, I'll come back and post about the differences.

I looked up two words while I was reading this book (I always appreciate books which serve up new words...).  The first word I learned was abatis a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy.  Like this:

This word comes from a French word meaning to strike down or slaughter, which is exactly what is done to the trees involved.  

The second word I looked up was solipsistic, which basically describes something related to the idea that one is the only person that exists.  In other words, if Gordon dreamed this whole apocalypse, he would be the only thing out of it that really existed, making his dream solipsistic.  I think.  That's a tricky word, grammatically and conceptually.  It's got an interesting etymology, from the Latin solus "alone" and ipse "self" with the lovely English -ism tacked on.  So it kind of means to be alone with oneself, or to believe oneself to be alone.  I like it.  

Page Count: 321
Find it on Amazon!

Essential Books for Teens and Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

A Tweet from @MacKidsBooks via @halseanderson led me to an Amazon list of Essential Books for Teens. What a cool list, even if there are so many I would add. :) I still haven't finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak because it's just so sad, but it is without a doubt one of the most well-written stories I've ever seen. I loved The Giver by Lois Lowry and have always encouraged my students (and friends, and family, and complete strangers in the bookstore) to read it whenever possible. I blogged about Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green back in February, and was beyond excited to see a few of my more mature students reading it (and passing it around, recommending it to friends!!) toward the end of the school year. I read and blogged about The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman waaaaay back at the beginning of 2008 when book blogging was still sort of new and my opinions were young and unformed. I don't entirely disagree with everything I wrote, but I think I would write something entirely different today. I own Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (both of whom I follow on Twitter) and will be reading their books soon. All in all a convincing list.

At any rate, while I was checking out the Essential Books for Teens, I discovered a link to Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. I was deeply conflicted! My bookavore heart leapt with joy at the sight of the familiar cover layout, the pretty green color, and the idea of another book from such a talented author. Then my heart sank: I'm going to have to reread Eragon and Eldest, because it's been so long that I've forgotten them, and then I'm going to have to finally get my hands on Brisingr and read it. I'm not sure why I haven't read it yet, other than the backlog of books I mentioned here. But now, surely, I'll have to!

Christmas Gifts Abound!

I am so blessed to have friends and family who invariably choose wonderful books for me! Not as though I have any trouble choosing books for myself, as you can see by the last part of this list. :) If I read just the books on this list, I will have matched my total for 2010. Wow. I should get on that.

From Mom:
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
Millenium Falcon by James Luceno
The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking
Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves

From Mandy:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

From Lindsey:
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stahl

From Sandy:
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Other books borrowed, bought, or discovered on shelves:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Shiver by Maggie Steifvater
Linger by Maggie Steifvater
Paper Towns by John Green
The Meaning of Matthew by Judy Shepard
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Homebody by Orson Scott Card
Welcome to the Ark by Stephanie S Tolan
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
la línea by Ann Jaramillo
The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper
The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Abyss by Troy Denning
Order 66 by Karen Traviss

Dystopian Literature Circles

edit: I can't make this post look right, so I'm probably going to go back and remove the images. I just don't have time this morning.

I have been gathering a collection of dystopian literature to prepare for Literature Circles. As I explained to my dad, dystopian YA literature is set in a broken (sometimes post-apocalyptic, but not always) society where personal freedoms have been infringed upon in some way, usually involving technology. The characters are usually young people coming of age in this oppressive society and searching for identity or freedom. There is usually a feeling of hope in a story from this genre, especially in the YA range.

So far, I've collected the following. First, books I've read:

And the books I need to read:

21, 22, and 23 - Catching Fire and Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins and Evermore, Alyson Noel

21 - Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)

So it took me almost half the book to get into this one. I suddenly got hooked and devoured the rest in a couple of sittings, though. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving something away. No spoilers on this blog! I can't wait to offer this as a Lit Circle choice to my AL group. :)

22 - Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)

OK, I can't even begin to describe my fascination with this book. I'll only say that it's somewhat disconcerting to read one's dreams in print. There are so many scenes in this book that mirror exactly in pacing and tone the dreams that wake me up in the middle of the night. Chase dreams, end-of-the-world dreams, fighting-for-survival dreams. Yeah. Chills, for sure. I loved it!! I will say that I am dissatisfied with the resolution (or lack thereof) for one character. I won't say who, though. Again, I don't do spoilers.

23 - Evermore: The Immortals

I enjoyed this little piece of trashy teen lit immensely! With the language, drinking, and other weird stuff, I can't recommend it to my students, but that's ok. It was a lot of fun to read! I detect threads of Twilight, as well as other vampire-lit traditions, even though there aren't really any vampires.