I'm not sure that I need to engage in another challenge this year, but since it's my first year participating in challenges, why not? I so enjoyed the Holiday Break Reading Challenge that I've decided to enter another challenge hosted by Karin of The Book Jacket. This challenge is titled The 2010 Chain Reading Challenge. (I've posted a button on the right sidebar of this blog along with the other buttons for other challenges I'm taking on this year.)
What intrigues me about the 2010 Chain Reading Challenge? Well, I have to admit that I've joined so many challenges now that I feel like much of my book selections for 2010 have already been planned out. So, to add a little spontaneity to my daily reading regimen, I'm going to start with a book I finished this evening and see where it takes me. What's the book? Well, it's actually one that I needed to read for the January meeting of an English teacher book club I started with Ms. Simpson at the middle school. It's called The Book Thief and it's written by Markus Zusak and it's pretty spectacular. Actually, it's so awesome that I had to go out and buy an extra copy during break because the other two I have on the free reading shelf are checked out.
So, the challenge of the Chain Reading Challenge is for me to read a book with a connection to another book. And then I need to connect the next book to another book. And it keeps going. Since The Book Thief has a lot going on, I thought that it'd be a great place to start. It's about a girl named Liesel who lives in Germany during WWII. She is taken in by a foster family and has some pretty traumatic things happen to her. But, what's great about her story is that she remains a hopeful, humane person despite the horror and the inhumanity that happens all around her.
I know that there are a bunch of you who love to read books that involve the Holocaust. This title does, too, but not in the usual way. I still think that many of you would love this book, though, and should check it out. It is a long book. I will say that. It is 550 pages, and it's not a fast read like an Ellen Hopkins or Stephenie Myers pick. But, this could be one of the most powerful books you'll ever read. It's been approved by our district for teaching. Let me know if you think that I should include it in our curriculum. It'd probably work for either sophomore or senior English.
Okay, back to the challenge. I'm not going to think too much about my next move in this challenge. I know that I have some books en route from amazon that will fit right into the WWII theme, but I'm not sure that this is where I'm headed. I guess that we'll all have to just wait to see where this takes me!
