Since the Six-Word Memoir® debuted as a project of SMITH Magazine in November 2006, nearly 1 million short stories have been shared on Six-Word Memoirs...I haven't tried writing a six-word memoir yet. But in the pursuit of brevity, I am attempting to review or describe in just six words each of the twenty books that I have read over the past four months, several of which are pictured below.
Here are the books in the order I read them, from February through the end of May:
Too new age-y, but good message.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A favorite classic revisited with daughter.
Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent by Ian Berry
Artist, former nun makes beautiful art.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Beautifully-rendered and heartbreaking war story.
Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit by Corita Kent and Jan Stewart
Artist's inspiring ideas that nurture creativity.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Michael Morpugo
Entertaining retelling of classic for youngsters.
Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep your Day Job by Kerry Weber
Short, inspiring book about serving others.
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
I love this children's historical novel!
A Long Way to Verona by Jane Gardam
Nicely drawn characters; plot just okay.
One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success by Marci Alboher
Relevant, interesting theme; author gets repetitive.
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
Graphic novel memoir - sad, poignant, recommended.
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Children's historical, adventure novel - really good.
A Reading Guide to Island of the Blue Dolphins by Patricia McHugh
Good background information and discussion ideas.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
All should read - sad, inspiring, true.
Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell
More good children's fiction from O'Dell.
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver writes well; sometimes gets preachy.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Childen's historical fiction, brief and beautiful.
The Constant Princess by Philipa Gregory
Gregory good at historical chick lit.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Was hesitant to read - liked it!
The Swimmer by Joakim Zander
Great summer read - suspenseful page-turner.
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That was pretty fun. Maybe I'll attempt using the six-word format for another writing project...
As for reading, I have high hopes to do a lot of it this summer. I'm currently reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. How about you? What are you reading now? What's on your summer reading list?
I just finished reading Yes, Please by Amy Poehler (She mentions Tina Fey quite a bit), and started reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (historical fiction) by Anthony Marra which was lent to me by a friend. I'm 90 pages in and enjoying it quite a bit. My next book will either be How Should a Person be by Sheila Heti or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Both were recommended by friends. I recently listed to the popular title on tidying up by Marie Kondo and the to Better Than Before (about habits) by popular author, Gretchen Rubin.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of hooking Kacie up with Lois Lowry for the summer. She has a summer reading project of reading across 3 genres. I think Lois Lowry could fit that bill and also be a bit of author study. We'll see how that goes. My ideas often fall flat.
I'm excited for your summer blogging. It was so fun to read and write along with you last summer. It felt like such a wonderful part of my summer experience last year. No pressure. :-)
Thanks for commenting, Lori! I'm planning to read Amy Poehler's book too. I'm going to jot down the other titles you mentioned. I also want to read the tidying up book, but I'm about the thousandth person in line for it at the library. :) My next book will be Life Drawing, which you recommended. You had previously recommended Robin Black's short story collection to me, which I loved. So I'm curious about the novel. I'll let you know. Re: Lois Lowry, Anna and I read Number the Stars for a middle school literature group that I'm helping facilitate. She would be a good author to choose for reading across genres. Keep me posted about how that goes.
DeleteI got Lois Lowry's The Giver. Kacie hasn't started it yet. I also hear that Martian was a pretty good SciFi read. Since SciFi isn't normally a genre I enjoy I thought Kacie and I might read that together or listen to it together. Not sure though, since The Giver and Martian would both be SciFi and so that wouldn't help with the read across genre assignment.
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to Station Eleven and I've just gotten to the exciting part, I think. I'm not sure I'll finish listening... I might get the book and read the rest.
I've also been reading back issues The Sun literary magazine. There is so much thought provoking writing in that magazine. I get them from a friend who passes them along to me after she reads them so I'm usually 6-12 months behind. :-)
I haven't heard of Martian. Is it a children's novel? Anna just rapidly read her way through The Sisters Grimm series and loved it. I think she might read the Percy Jackson books next. Summer seems to be a good time to be immersed in a good series.
DeleteI just finished Life Drawing. So good! I really love Robin Black's style of writing. She really draws me in. Now I want to go back and reread her short stories. Thanks, Lori, for recommending her books!
The Martian is an adult SciFi novel by Andy Weir. It is about surviving on Mars alone after being abandoned for dead by your space crew. Supposedly so well written and likened to the story of Apollo 13 because so convincing as to read as real/memiorish.
DeleteDid I recommend The Rosie Project? Have you heard of it? Quirky, light-hearted and fun. A good summer read I think. I became more aware of Asperger's in adults as a result of reading it.
Great talking with you yesterday! Looking forward to more blog entries. :-)