Men of Athens by Olivia Coolidge

This was my third and final Newbery book for the second mini-challenge part of the Newbery Reading Challenge. This was also a historical fiction pick for me.

When I first looked at Men of Athens, I thought it was going to be a nonfiction book about Ancient Greece, but as I read, I realized in some cases she used real people and in others there were made up characters. She also created dialogue for the actual real-life characters based on what we know of them. She did great research, but this belongs more in the realm of historical fiction. As far as content goes, some of the sections were fascinating and quickly read and a few were a bit slower. I also think this would not be a book given to children under 12 in today's society. It is not about children and it talks a little about orgies and the young marriages of Ancient Greek society, although not in any graphic way. More than content though the writing style is a bit more mature and dry at times.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially the Pericles/Aspasia section and the trial of Socrates section. Those sections make you feel like you are in the Greek discussion perhaps as they were during that time period. I don't think it is one I would recommend to kids or teens, but maybe older teens and adults interested in Ancient Greece. This is definitely not a quick read. 3.5 cups of cocoa.

Since I read this, Wrinkle in Time, and Thistle and Thyme, I have thought a lot about how books hold up over time. Wrinkle in Time is enjoyed by teens today as much as it was in the 1960s. A new movie is being made and the book itself is timeless. The other two are no longer in print and it is not really hard to see why. Thistle and Thyme would appeal to those who enjoy old style fairy tales and folktales, like me, but Men of Athens is not really going to appeal to very many people. I liked parts of it, but even for me, a history person, it was just not that interesting. The Newbery award has always been a bit controversial, since quite a few of the award books just don't appeal to children. I think it is slowly getting a little more kid friendly and I like that they chose based on literary merit, but we do need to think about how this will appeal to a child. We want children to read and love it, not feel like reading is torture. Thankfully there are Lois Lowry books and Kate Dicamillo books to recommend and add to that A Wrinkle in Time.

Beat the Heat Readathon Week 3 Updates

Week 3 Updates:


Day 15
Currently Reading: Iron Trial
Pages read:20 pages-Iron Trial
Mini-challenge: Book Blending challenge @ Rosie Reads

Day 16
Currently Reading: Iron Trial, Midnight Frost
Pages read:29 pages-Iron Trial, 39 pages- Midnight Frost

Day 17 No reading :(

Day 18
Currently Reading: Midnight Frost
Pages read: 9 pages-Midnight Frost

Day 19 No reading :(

Day 20
Currently Reading: Iron Trial
Pages read: 93 pages- Iron Trial (loving this book!)

Day 21
Currently Reading: Iron Trial, Midnight Frost
Pages read: 120 pages and finished!- Iron Trial, 31 pages-Midnight Frost

End of the Summer Read-a-thon

Limabean Designs

This is the last read-a-thon of COYER summer vacation and you can sign up at this link. This will run August 29-August 31. For this read-a-thon you read books with a Fall theme and this can include books with a school/college setting.
I will probably try to finish Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare if I haven't finished it before Friday. I may also add The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson and Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep.

213 pages in Iron Trial and finished!
40 pages in Midnight Frost

Bout of Books 11 Wrapup

I did better than I thought I would. I was able to fit in quite a bit of reading, despite a very busy and stressful week. I finished two books, The Son of Neptune and Men of Athens, and read a total of 445 pages. I completed 3 mini-challenges and one Twitter chat. I commented on several blogs and found 5 new blogs to follow. Overall not bad! I always love Bout of Books and can't wait until the next one. Thanks to the great hosts and all the great bloggers!
Hope everyone had a good week!

Bout of Books Day 7 Update

Currently Reading:Men of Athens, Iron Trial
Pages read:66 pages and finished!-Men of Athens, 32 pages-Iron Trial
Mini-challenge: 5 Books -- Falling Down the Book Hole
Ashley at Falling Down the Book Hole's challenge is to pick 5 books that you would carry with you if aliens invaded and were destroying the planet.
1.The first one is easy. I would pick the Bible. I read it pretty much everyday and it would remind me there is always hope.
2. I would have to take a Harry Potter and would probably pick Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It is my favorite of the series and ends on a sort of happy note.
3. I would also want to take a classic, so that I would have something timeless, so I would pick Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
4. The Peterson's Field Guide to Edible Plants may come in handy if I can escape to the wilderness and since I am not in a big city, that would be a possibility.
5. I would pick something off of my TBR stack, so that I would have something new to look forward to. This would be hard to do right now, since I have several books I want to read. I think I will go with Landline by Rainbow Rowell, since I really enjoyed Fangirl and Attachments.

What did you all choose?

Bout of Books Day 6 Update

Currently Reading: Men of Athens
Pages read: 26 pages-Men of Athens
I really did not read much today at all. I may need to switch up books for a bit.

Bout of Books Day 5 Update

Currently Reading: Men of Athens
 Pages read:49 pages-Men of Athens
New blogs: On the Wings of Books,  Must Read Faster,
My regional children's/teen librarian meeting was fun and I came back with several great program ideas to steal from the other great librarians. I did accomplish a bit of reading. I will be visiting with a friend Saturday, so I may not have time to read very much.