Some predictions about The Lost Hero

Stopping in the middle of the good part in a book is not normally something I care to do, but I had to make some predictions before I get too far into the story.  Keep in mind that I haven't read this book and I'm not looking to spoil it for anyone or have anyone tell me if I'm right or not, just wanted to share my thoughts on the story so far.  First of all, this book definitely doesn't waste any time getting into the action.  I'm only on page 101 and there's already been battles, talk of betrayal and death, hearts breaking, prophecies, monsters, and missing heroes!  I'm already frustrated by the prophecy talk, hoping two characters will have a successful romance, and freaking out about who is missing!  (Yes, I am loving this book so far!)

So, before I abandon the real world for Camp Halfblood, here are my predictions so far:
Jason is Zues's son.
Piper and Jason will get together (ok, more of a hope than a prediction).
Leo's mom died in a fire he thinks he caused.  Maybe he did?

Some questions I have (rhetorical - please don't actually answer them if you've read the book):
Who is Piper's mom?
Where the heck is my favorite demigod??????
And why does my heart still break when I read the name "Beckendorf" even after all this time?  For goodness sake, I read The Last Olympian almost a year ago!

Questions for you to actually answer :-) :
If you were a demigod, who would you want for a parent?  Why?

Finally, here is a link to some more information on Zeus, King of the Gods:  http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/zeus.html

Enjoy!  And keep reading...

Starting a New Adventure

My son has been nagging me to read The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan since he finished it after Christmas.  Well, okay, so he hasn't been nagging exactly.  He just told me I had to read it because it was really good.  I've read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (also by Mr. Riordan) and LOVED every book.  I mean really LOVED them.  Books capture my interest based on how attached I get to the characters and the characters in this series were great fun.  These books are on my top ten list of favorite books of all time.  I have also read and enjoyed other books by Mr. Riordan - The Red Pyramid & The Maze of Bones (39 Clues series - Book 1).  So, you would think I would be dying to read The Lost Hero.  But, I've been feeling somewhat apathetic (not excited - lack of feeling) towards reading it.  I'm not sure why.  

However, I've finally decided to take his recommendation (along with the recommendation of 3 of my students) and jump into the book.  So far, so good.  You've got to like a book that opens with "Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day."  Great first line.  I'm always telling my students to jump right into the action when they write and Rick Riordan is a master at this.  

A few interesting tidbits on Mr. Riordan - he was a teacher!  (I knew I liked him).  He taught history in middle school.  He earned a Master Teacher award from his school - very cool (ok, so it's cool in the teacher world).  He also has a pretty cool website which you should check out here.  

Well, that's it for now.  I'm dying to get back into the story before it gets too late and I have to go to sleep.  So, I'll leave you with a few questions:  Have you read this book?  Have you read any of Mr. Riordan's books?  Which ones?  Like? Dislike?  Why?  

~Mrs. H

Roll of Thunder

Hey Bloggers!  I'm excited to have my first two followers!  I'd love to hear about what you are reading.  Right now my class and I are reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor.  We are all enjoying this very powerful story.  To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book.  I don't like to read stories that might be sad.  I am also rather picky about the historical fiction books that I read.  I'm very interested in certain time periods in history and not so much in others.  However, I have been very pleasantly surprised by this book.  It's VERY good!  My students really seem to like it too.  


The book is told from Cassie's point of view - a young, black girl growing up in Mississippi in the early 1930s.  Cassie's family faces poverty and racism.  The Depression occurred during this time and the Civil Rights Act has not been passed.  The language of the story is harsh in places and some of the slang can be challenging to read, but the characters are very vivid and real.  The story itself is very emotional and it's the type of book that you don't want to stop reading.  I also love reading it aloud.  Each character has such a strong voice and personality.


I did a little bit of research on Mildred Taylor and found out that this book is actually one in a series.  I didn't know that.  Ms. Taylor wrote several books on the Logan family:  The Land, The Well, Song of the Trees, Roll of Thunder,  Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and Road to Memphis.  


Here is a link to a biographical essay about Mildred Taylor:  http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=75


Here is a link to more detail on her books:
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/reading/multicultural-literature/31177.html




Well, that's it for now.  I'm off to watch Eclipse (movie based on the book of the same name by Stephenie Meyers) with some of my friends.  I'd love to hear from those of you who have read Roll of Thunder.  What do you think?  Have you read any of the other books about the Logan family?  Are they as good as ROT?  


Who is your favorite Logan character?


For those of you who haven't read it, what are you reading right now?  How is it?  Do you recommend it?


Take care and keep reading!


Mrs. H

Hello Readers and Bloggers!

Ok, so I should have learned by now to "never say never."  Not too many weeks ago, I told my husband I wouldn't have anything to talk about on a blog.  And, now, here I am ... starting a blog about books.  As much as I like to talk in person, of course there's something for me to talk about on a blog!  I really should have known better.  Anyway, I would like to welcome you to my blog about everything reading related!

I have been a book lover since I before I could actually read the words myself.  When I was a little girl, my mom would take me to the public library to check out as many books as we could carry home.  She would read to me for hours.  My dad would read to me using all kinds of crazy voices, sometimes acting out the characters, bringing the story to life for me.  Later, when I could read on my own, I would literally lose myself in stories.  People would talk to me and I wouldn't hear them because I was so involved in the story.  I wouldn't want to stop until I'd finished the story either.  Sometimes I would read for hours at a time, late into the night.  (On rare occasions, I still do this).

Now that I'm grown and have children of my own, I share my love of reading with them.  We read aloud stories together.  We listen to audiobooks in the car on trips.  We talk about books we are reading on our own.  We give each other books as gifts.    We watch movies based on books and discuss how well they match up to the book.

I also like to share my love of reading with my students.  Read aloud is my favorite time of the day.  I like to use goofy voices for the characters like my dad did.  As a teacher, I love seeing my students lost in a good story together - a community of readers.

This leads me to why I started this blog.  I would like to build a community of readers here in cyberspace (on the internet).  I hope my library will be a place where people who love books and people who just haven't met the right book yet can come together and share about what we are reading.  I plan to talk about what I'm reading and post links to author websites and any other cool reading related stuff I can think of.  I'd love to hear from you about what you are reading.  So, pull up a chair, grab a book, and let's read together...