Too Many Books?

I am one month away from the big move! I am almost finished packing. However in the process of picking things to go to Alaska I realized I may have too many books.

I'm kidding of course. The real problem is that I don't have enough bookshelves.

 

Yes, those are a few of my shelves. Almost all of my books have been relegated to horizontal status. And a few shelves are stacked two deep. I have four freestanding bookcases, four built in shelves, a steamer trunk filled with books, and several books in boxes to go to Alaska. If I ever have a spare room that sucker will be filled with books! The funny thing about passion is that I know these books and can tell you all about them. I love knowledge in that way. (Just don't ask me to remember those clothes in the washer.)
My point is that I am a bibliophile of the top degree. I enjoy that fact, because I am investing in knowledge.

 

The Door in the Wall, Newbery Winner 1950

This was such a wonderful book! I found it to be immensely enjoyable and favorable in its depictions of all characters. I particularly loved Brother Luke, though perhaps simply because I have met several brothers and always find them good company.
This book is likely by many to be compared to The Whipping Boy, a book I mentioned that I felt perhaps wasn't of great literary value. Indeed this work is scarcely 20 pages longer, covers the same general time, and is richly illustrated. But the story is so much stronger in my opinion. I cared about the characters and was genuinely sorry for their hardships. I was also worried for their safety, joyous in their celebration, and intrigued by their work.
The moral is much stronger in this story as well, and repeated many times to be sure that you have not missed it. What begins as a devastating blow to Robin ends up being his opportunity to save everyone. Though he is upset by his ailment in the beginning, he soon grows to find himself interested in finding new skills, which is a truly honorable attitude.

By the Decade...

In order to gauge my progress I looked at which decades I've read the most from... some interesting results.

1920s - 0, these books are by far the hardest for me to find, and though I had checked some out for reading I simply got too busy.

1930s - 3 reviewed: The Cat Who Went to Heaven, Caddie Woodlawn, and Dobry. Two of these books I liked and Dobry was boring. The others I simply haven't gotten around to yet.

1940s - 6 reviewed: Daniel Boone, Call It Courage, The Matchlock Gun, Johnny Tremain, Rabbit Hill, and King of the Wind. This is surprising, I didn't realize I was more than half done with the decade! The 40's have been a mixed bag, I loved Call It Courage and King of the Wind, but Daniel Boone and Johnny Tremain I could have lived without.

1950s - 0, that is also surprising, I didn't realize I hadn't read anything from the 50s.

1960s - 3 reviewed, Onion John, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and It's Like This, Cat.I thoroughly expected this number to be larger. Another mixed bag.

1970s - 5 reviewed: Sounder, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Julie of the Wolves, Bridge to Terebithia, and The Westing Game. I really enjoyed all of the books from this decade.

1980s - 6 reviewed: A Gathering of Days; A Visit to William Blake's Inn; Dear Mr. Henshaw; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Whipping Boy; Joyful Noise. An interesting assortment, I see a trend here that short is good. Brevity must have been a thing in the 80s. Also two poetry books, two journal books, and a father - son double win.

1990s - 6 reviewed: Number the Stars, Maniac Magee, Missing May, The Giver, The View from Saturday, and Out of the Dust. Here are the ones from my childhood, and also many of the ones I enjoyed the most thus far.

2000s - 5 reviewed: Bud, Not Buddy; Crispin; The Tale of Despereaux; Kira-Kira; and Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Here we have a batch that is truly beginning to show just how diverse children's literature can be. Far from being out of touch, I think that the Newbery Award is more in touch than ever before!

2010s -  1 reviewed: When You Reach Me. I'm excited to see how this decade works out!

It's Like This, Cat, Newbery Winner 1964

Three thoughts while reading this book:
1. No one I have ever met drags their cat around with them like a dog.
2. Wow, this book is dated by how much things cost.
3. Ah, it's finally fallen into a groove, time for it to... wait, what? This is the last page?

This book was fair, and a lot less boring than I thought at the beginning. It took me several days to want to go back to reading it, and even then I sort of plowed ahead with the intent of just ffinishing it quickly so I could choose something else. Then I finally found a story emerging, a plot at long last! Unfortunately this happened within the last 20 or so pages. Not much there to enjoy, especially considering that the book just ends. It feels like there should be a lot more tying up the story but instead you are left feeling that perhaps your book is missing several chapters. It does this throughout the book though, fight with best friend... never heard from again, gets girls number... what happens we'll never know, woman inherits fortune... well you get the idea. Overall, I didn't feel this was a particularly strong work especially compared to the books that won just a few years previously.