On to the books:
I did manage to read Laurie Halse Anderson’s CHAINS for War Through the Generation’s American 
Revolution reading challenge read-along this month. Chains is the story of a thirteen year old slave, Isabel, set during the early days of the Revolutionary War. Her benevolent master in Rhode Island dies and had willed Isabel and her younger sister to be freed upon her death, but a nasty family member sells the girls to a couple from New York who are Loyalists. Isabel’s new mistress is selfish and mean. Isabel struggles within the house to keep her little sister with her and Rebel activity is complicating matters both inside and outside the house.
Anderson is skilled at walking the line between historical accuracy and presenting an interesting character that appeals to today’s readers. I cared about Isabel, wanted the mistress to get hers, and enjoyed the historical details. Chains was a National Book Award finalist and won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. I especially enjoyed the Q&A appendix which makes it very, very clear that yes, slavery not only existed but thrived in the northern colonies. And I don’t remember if I never knew this or if I repressed it, but I was surprised to learn that Benjamin Franklin owned slaves. He’s my favorite founding father and I supposed I wanted him to be above all that.
Currently I’m reading DOCTOR SLEEP by Stephen King. I read The Shining back in the early 1980s
when I was in high school and loved it. I re-read it in 2009 and loved it again for different reasons. As a teen I could relate to how it felt to live with an angry, out-of-control father. As an adult I read it as an allegory of how Corporate America expects employees to sacrifice everything, even their families, for the sake of the company (anyone who had a few years under their belt as a manger at Borders in 2009 may understand where I’m coming from). I was surprised and thrilled to hear King was coming out with a sequel and am currently 15% into the book. Its going to be an exhausting read, in the best sense of that wrung-out feeling. King fans know what I mean.
Tif Talks Books and Charleen of Cheap Thrills are hosting a read-along for Doctor Sleep from September 30 to October 21. You can participate on either of their blogs or on Twitter with the hashtag #sleepalong. You are, of course, not bound to a strict reading schedule so you can binge read it now (which would be appropriate) and then comment as according to the read-a-long section breaks. Just remember to avoid spoilers. Bad things can happen to people who drop spoilers…particularly when it comes to creepy books being read in the month of Halloween.
Here’s the official read-along signup link: http://www.tiftalksbooks.com/2013/09/the-doctor-sleep-read-along-is-here.html.
LOL!!! I am laughing out loud at that last comment about spoilers. So true, so true!!!
I am so glad that you will be joining us for the read-along! I am still holding off, though the book stares at me from the coffee table every time I enter the living room. I'm trying to hold off until Monday to start it, but we will see if I have any sense of will power when it comes to King or not!! 🙂
BTW, good luck with your packing and moving! I know how that goes since I just moved at the end of June and will be preparing for another move sometime this summer. My house did not sell the first time we had it on the market in the spring. We listed it again about a month ago, and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we have more success this time around. Ugh!! It is so exhausting!!
Glad to have you with us, Chris!
thanks for sharing Chris, so I really need to read The Shining soon to be able to read the sequel!
Books, shmooks. Let's talk about your relocation. I love transitions in books and in life. Is a job taking you to NE or are you moving just because you want to? We think we may retire to, well maybe not technically New England, but the northeast. Not only do you have libraries to look forward to but secondhand bookshops every which way. When I first moved from my natal state of Minnesota to DC and on subsequent road trips in New England I was struck by how many fabulous things you can come across in a few hours in the car. In Minnesota you can travel for many hours and not see a darn thing except for rows and rows of corn or similar.
I hope your house sells quickly! The waiting is the pits, isn't it? As for packing, books seem to be the hardest thing for me. I've been weeding books for months, trying to ensure I take only those that I really, really want. Think I finally have a manageable amount. I keep putting off packing them, but my absolute deadline is tomorrow morning. Gulp!
So excited you two are doing this readalong!!!
Yes, you do! I suppose Doctor Sleep would be enjoyable as a standalone, but it is so much richer if you read The Shining. Perfect reading for October!
We are moving just to be out there to explore New England and be close to NYC (where my partner used to live, although she's originally from VA). The first vacation we took together was to Maine and we loved it. We've since spent a lot of time exploring the coast of Connecticut. (I love the Book Barn and saw they were hiring recently, but, alas, we had to sell our house here first.) I know what you mean about the miles of corn. While I have a deep fondness for the landscapes of the Midwest, Great Plains, and Western states, I can't wait to have the compact diversity of New England to explore. I'm itching for all the great day trips ahead of us. And how cool that we might be “neighbors” one of these days!
You must be so excited to move! I love my Midwestern home but man oh man do I feel like a New Englander on the inside 😀 Why is that I wonder??
Speaking of book barns, there is one outside of Ithaca, NY that is huge and wonderful, but the owner is mercurial to say the least. He is kind of the soup Nazi of the book world.