Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Stuff That Never Happened - 52 Books in 52 Weeks - Week 24

As part of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge, I'm trying to also read a variety of books - some of which I typically would not read.  Concurrently, the county library is doing an adult summer reading program to encourage adults to read more books during the summer (they also do a children's reading program). 

For the adults, you play a game of bingo, with each square a different theme (e.g., book on the big screen, biography, beach read, budget book, bygone eras).  All the themes start with "B."

So, this week I picked out a book that would fall under the "beach read" or maybe the "belles and beaus" category. It's called The Stuff that Never Happened by Maddie Dawson. 


The book alternates time periods with each chapter which works well for this book.  There are actually a few different stories that happen in this book during the different time periods, so this is the most effective way to address them.  The characters each have their own flaws and the author has developed them in such a way that they feel like "real people," and the book is written in an easy-to-read language. 

I'm a bit more than half-way done with the book.  It's taking me a bit longer than anticipated since I've been working on some other projects.  I should have it done this week. 

This week, I've also enjoyed looking at a series of books called Reading Group Choices - Selection for Lively Book Discussions.  The library had the years 2003, 2004, and 2005 on the shelf so I took all three.  Each book has a one page description and picture of the book and another page with questions for reflection or discussion. 

In each of the Reading Group Choices books, there are many books that I thought sounded interesting and that I'd like to read.  At this point, I have a list of books that I want to read that's long enough for completing the challenge and taking me into next year.

2 comments:

Fairy Tale Mama said...

I need some beach reads so I can get caught up in the challenge. I just finished by book #17. :-) I'll see if my library has this one.

Barbara said...

Ann, Thanks so much for mentioning Reading Group Choices. Please let us know your library's address so we can send the current editions of Reading Group Choices.

Have you read Ann Hood's THE RED THREAD? I think you might like it -- six couples adopting Chinese children. Please go up to the Reading Group Choices website for more info.

You can reach me bmead at readinggroupchoices dot com to leave library address.
Thanks, again! Barbara Mead, Reading Group Choices