10000 pages of bestseller fun
March 10, 2001 7:34 PM Subscribe
10000 pages, hmmmm? Well, I guess this series is making kids want to read!
posted by iceberg273 at 7:48 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by iceberg273 at 7:48 PM on March 10, 2001
If only it would be that many pages; then I would not have to hear my small relative complain that she has nothing to read now that she's read all 4 HP books. Attempting to placate her with the His Dark Materials trilogy and the Earthsea series is not working. She's choosing to read Everworld instead. Anyone have any ideas as for quality books for 12-year-old girls, besides the charity books being released on Monday? I've even tried to get her to read Card Captor Sakura, but she's confused by comic book format (?!)
posted by Electric Elf at 8:43 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by Electric Elf at 8:43 PM on March 10, 2001
Amazon, B&N, and other bookstores shouldn't be taking advanced orders for this book. I have a friend who works for Scholastic (HP publisher). 1.) No one knows when the book will be released--not even Rowling because she's not done with it yet. 2.) No one knows what the title will be. The Order of the Phoenix is not definite. The only things for sure are two Hogwarts textbooks coming out next week and the movie this fall.
posted by shackbar at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by shackbar at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2001
Electric Elf, I would highly recommend the Robin McKinley books "The Blue Sword" and "The Hero and the Crown" for your 12 yo girl. The protagonist is a young female woman and the books are Newberry award winners (I think.) I'm enjoying them tremendously right now and I'm not that particular demographic myself.
posted by gen at 9:31 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by gen at 9:31 PM on March 10, 2001
Wow, it's up to sales rank #2.
posted by waxpancake at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by waxpancake at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2001
Electric Elf: try the works of Zilpha Keatly Snyder, particularly The Headless Cupid, The Egypt Game, and The Changeling. I was a fantasy nut at age 12, and I loved those books. I also read Stephen Donaldson's The Mirror of Her Dreams around the same time (but it's an adult book-- there's some implied, and outright, sexual hijinx), and Mercedes Lackey's Books of the Last Herald Mage (but be aware, the protagonist is gay).
posted by wiremommy at 10:45 PM on March 10, 2001
posted by wiremommy at 10:45 PM on March 10, 2001
Elf: The Newberry Medal winners will cure what ails you.
Wiremommy mentioned Snyder, she got an honorable mention in ‘73, ‘72 and ‘68 she must be good! I read the Dark is Rising sequence by another author on the list, Susan Cooper. All of them, Greenwitch, Silver on the Tree, Over Sea, Under Stone. But especially The Grey King. Of all four, The Grey King was the best.
I spent many chilly nights with those books.
posted by capt.crackpipe at 11:39 PM on March 10, 2001
Wiremommy mentioned Snyder, she got an honorable mention in ‘73, ‘72 and ‘68 she must be good! I read the Dark is Rising sequence by another author on the list, Susan Cooper. All of them, Greenwitch, Silver on the Tree, Over Sea, Under Stone. But especially The Grey King. Of all four, The Grey King was the best.
I spent many chilly nights with those books.
posted by capt.crackpipe at 11:39 PM on March 10, 2001
Of the five. Not to be forgetting The Dark is Rising itself . . .
posted by grimmelm at 12:08 AM on March 11, 2001
posted by grimmelm at 12:08 AM on March 11, 2001
Dude yes. Forgot that. It’s been ten years.
All in one!
posted by capt.crackpipe at 12:10 AM on March 11, 2001
All in one!
posted by capt.crackpipe at 12:10 AM on March 11, 2001
first, the hobbit.
second, the lord of the rings trilogy.
you can't go wrong with the classics.
posted by will at 12:25 AM on March 11, 2001
second, the lord of the rings trilogy.
you can't go wrong with the classics.
posted by will at 12:25 AM on March 11, 2001
The Chronicles of Narnia series is also quite good, but they might be more appropriate for a slightly younger reader. I think I read the series when I was about seven or eight and I enjoyed it a lot. I tried to read The Fellowship of the Ring next, but I wasn't really ready for it until I was about fourteen.
posted by Loudmax at 12:47 AM on March 11, 2001
posted by Loudmax at 12:47 AM on March 11, 2001
shackbar, it's a little silly, but what's wrong with pre-orders? No purchase takes place until it's released. They're basically just trying to reserve a copy & place in line. This is actually a neat feature: once you've ordered it, you don't have to worry about it anymore. (As long as Amazon doesn't go belly-up, of course.)
What else to read ... hmmm. Zoom reviews might be a good place to start. Use Amazon's related items links. Here's a good starter list -- the list feature is kinda new, but there are starting to be enough of them that they pop up at useful times. Browse away.
Off the top of my head, though: The Wind in the Willows. Stuart Little. Charlotte's Web. A Wrinkle in Time (I've heard there's a movie project!). The Borrowers. Harriet the Spy. Dragonriders of Pern. Have Spacesuit Will Travel (I'm thinking girl protagonists here). Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. From the Mixed-Up Files .... The Phantom Tollbooth. James and the Giant Peach. Watership Down. Little House on the Prairie. Johnny Tremain. Narnia. Gotta be SOMETHING there for a literate kid. Find out what level she's challenged at.
Dang, those are all better than just about anything I've read lately, too.
posted by dhartung at 12:47 AM on March 11, 2001
What else to read ... hmmm. Zoom reviews might be a good place to start. Use Amazon's related items links. Here's a good starter list -- the list feature is kinda new, but there are starting to be enough of them that they pop up at useful times. Browse away.
Off the top of my head, though: The Wind in the Willows. Stuart Little. Charlotte's Web. A Wrinkle in Time (I've heard there's a movie project!). The Borrowers. Harriet the Spy. Dragonriders of Pern. Have Spacesuit Will Travel (I'm thinking girl protagonists here). Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. From the Mixed-Up Files .... The Phantom Tollbooth. James and the Giant Peach. Watership Down. Little House on the Prairie. Johnny Tremain. Narnia. Gotta be SOMETHING there for a literate kid. Find out what level she's challenged at.
Dang, those are all better than just about anything I've read lately, too.
posted by dhartung at 12:47 AM on March 11, 2001
My favorite part is the "Customers also bought books by..." There's Lemony Snicket, Amy Tan, and Stephen King. I think there's a picture of this page in the dictionary next to 'eclectic'.
posted by toddshot at 12:50 AM on March 11, 2001
posted by toddshot at 12:50 AM on March 11, 2001
the narnia books are good if you want to read thinly disguised biblical allegories. i recommend the phantom tollbooth first and foremost. what a great book. then, i'd say the redwall series by matthew jacques is a good series for an imaginative kid.
or... get them started reading classics. :D
posted by pikachulolita at 1:26 AM on March 11, 2001
or... get them started reading classics. :D
posted by pikachulolita at 1:26 AM on March 11, 2001
Dhartung: What's wrong with pre-orders is that customers are impatient. I work in customer service. They WILL pester you, no matter how much padding you put around your "projected" date, and Amazon isn't even really offering that. It's damn annoying to us, a waste of company resources, and a waste of the customer's time, too.
There's no nice way to tell someone, "Well, you KNEW it was going to be a long wait when you placed the order, and the dates are ESTIMATED, and subject to change."
posted by Su at 6:14 AM on March 11, 2001
There's no nice way to tell someone, "Well, you KNEW it was going to be a long wait when you placed the order, and the dates are ESTIMATED, and subject to change."
posted by Su at 6:14 AM on March 11, 2001
"but be aware, the protagonist is gay"
Oh no! Oh God no! Don't let the child be corrupted by the dirty homosexuality!
...
Don't mind me.
posted by gleemax at 10:00 AM on March 11, 2001
Oh no! Oh God no! Don't let the child be corrupted by the dirty homosexuality!
...
Don't mind me.
posted by gleemax at 10:00 AM on March 11, 2001
the narnia books are good if you want to read thinly disguised biblical allegories.
Ummm, so are you dismissing them out of hand because of Lewis's religious bent? I read the Narnia books before I had any religious inclination whatsoever, and enjoyed them thoroughly for the stories themselves. True, they are geared towards younger readers (though I think any child could enjoy them) and there are definite parallels between some of the characters and some biblical figures. However, if memory serves, C.S. Lewis did not write them in order to indoctrinate kids, but rather to entertain them. In fact, the characters could come out of pretty much any culture or faith tradition (or lack thereof).
Besides the Narnia series, I would recommend any good mythology anthology such as this. I do remember enjoying Ovid's Metamorphoses, but then again, I was a troubled child. ;-)
posted by Avogadro at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2001
Ummm, so are you dismissing them out of hand because of Lewis's religious bent? I read the Narnia books before I had any religious inclination whatsoever, and enjoyed them thoroughly for the stories themselves. True, they are geared towards younger readers (though I think any child could enjoy them) and there are definite parallels between some of the characters and some biblical figures. However, if memory serves, C.S. Lewis did not write them in order to indoctrinate kids, but rather to entertain them. In fact, the characters could come out of pretty much any culture or faith tradition (or lack thereof).
Besides the Narnia series, I would recommend any good mythology anthology such as this. I do remember enjoying Ovid's Metamorphoses, but then again, I was a troubled child. ;-)
posted by Avogadro at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2001
Gleemax: I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Vanyel of Books of the Last Herald Mage is gay; we're talking about recommendations for a 12-year-old, and not everyone feels like a 12-year-old is ready to read about someone struggling with his sexuality. Though probably I should have remembered to mention that the third book (Magic's Price) has a rape scene-- not especially graphic, but still.
Avo: Mythology was really interesting to me at 12 too. I really liked Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I also loved (and still love) revisionist fairy tales.
I second everyone's recommendations for the works of Madeline L'Engle. I also read Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye around age 12 and loved it. And as a lifelong agnostic, I can give you a non-Christian perspective on reading The Chronicles of Narnia as a kid: I adored the books as great works of fantasy. I realized throughout the final book that the whole thing had been a Christian allegory, and I felt kind of annoyed, like Lewis had pulled one over on me. But I felt like the values of Christianity that are lauded in the Narnia books are pretty universal positive values, so in the end it didn't bug me too much. Despite the evangelical overtones, I found the end of the series so moving that I cried.
posted by wiremommy at 2:12 PM on March 11, 2001
Avo: Mythology was really interesting to me at 12 too. I really liked Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I also loved (and still love) revisionist fairy tales.
I second everyone's recommendations for the works of Madeline L'Engle. I also read Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye around age 12 and loved it. And as a lifelong agnostic, I can give you a non-Christian perspective on reading The Chronicles of Narnia as a kid: I adored the books as great works of fantasy. I realized throughout the final book that the whole thing had been a Christian allegory, and I felt kind of annoyed, like Lewis had pulled one over on me. But I felt like the values of Christianity that are lauded in the Narnia books are pretty universal positive values, so in the end it didn't bug me too much. Despite the evangelical overtones, I found the end of the series so moving that I cried.
posted by wiremommy at 2:12 PM on March 11, 2001
The Anarchist's Cookbook, Mein Kampf, and anything by Anton LeVey.
No, wait...
posted by solistrato at 6:11 PM on March 11, 2001
No, wait...
posted by solistrato at 6:11 PM on March 11, 2001
dhartung, the wait could be years. Then there's the horrible possibility that Rowling can't finish the books. Don't recommend pre-ordering until you have SOME idea when it's coming out.
posted by shackbar at 1:16 AM on March 12, 2001
posted by shackbar at 1:16 AM on March 12, 2001
> The protagonist is a young female woman
One does have to be so specific these days...
posted by jfuller at 6:51 AM on March 12, 2001
One does have to be so specific these days...
posted by jfuller at 6:51 AM on March 12, 2001
I really enjoyed The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander as a kid. And I'd reccomumend 'em.
posted by sonofsamiam at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2001
posted by sonofsamiam at 7:04 AM on March 12, 2001
Philistines! No Roald Dahl mentions? How about the ones ruined by mediocre movies? The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, they're great.
posted by norm at 7:26 AM on March 12, 2001
posted by norm at 7:26 AM on March 12, 2001
Did you just call `Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' a mediocre movie? You've got to be kidding me.
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
posted by gleuschk at 7:48 AM on March 12, 2001
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.
posted by gleuschk at 7:48 AM on March 12, 2001
shackbar: computers can wait a very long time. Without complaining.
If you're annoyed by taking pre-orders as a human being, perhaps you're in the wrong business?
posted by dhartung at 12:06 PM on March 12, 2001
If you're annoyed by taking pre-orders as a human being, perhaps you're in the wrong business?
posted by dhartung at 12:06 PM on March 12, 2001
Advice on what a 12-year old should read? Take the young thing to a library and set her free.
Am I the only one who still thrills at walking through the stacks, looking at the titles, seeing what captures my fancy, deciding whether or not to bother with a book because of the cover (you CAN judge a book that way!) and smelling the scent of the books, trying to get out of a reading rut, picking across genres?
Please tell me I'm not the only parent/influential adult who is encouraging kids to do the same.
posted by Dreama at 2:14 PM on March 12, 2001
Am I the only one who still thrills at walking through the stacks, looking at the titles, seeing what captures my fancy, deciding whether or not to bother with a book because of the cover (you CAN judge a book that way!) and smelling the scent of the books, trying to get out of a reading rut, picking across genres?
Please tell me I'm not the only parent/influential adult who is encouraging kids to do the same.
posted by Dreama at 2:14 PM on March 12, 2001
heh, dreama - that's what i did. which didn't stop my mom from suggesting stuff, but i never read anything she suggested, anyway.
She gave up around the time I started reading James Joyce (17)
posted by dagnyscott at 5:34 PM on March 12, 2001
She gave up around the time I started reading James Joyce (17)
posted by dagnyscott at 5:34 PM on March 12, 2001
Re: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
I was a little bit upset that Charlie was a fallen hero in the movie. I think the tarnishing of the hero gets away from the comparison between the four children with deadly sins and the hero.
The movie's cool, but I always end up yelling at the TV at the end. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great book because of its allegorical nature. In that sense, the movie is mediocre. It mangles the allegory.
My pick: The Princess Bride. When I was growing up, my Mom wouldn't let me watch the movie until I read the book. Boy, am I glad (although I love the movie as well). I love how the book blurs reality and fiction and I love the parentheses (can you tell?). (BTW - Here's the response to the letter that Goldman wanted he readership to send in. Don't understand. Read the book.)
posted by iceberg273 at 5:55 PM on March 12, 2001
I was a little bit upset that Charlie was a fallen hero in the movie. I think the tarnishing of the hero gets away from the comparison between the four children with deadly sins and the hero.
The movie's cool, but I always end up yelling at the TV at the end. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great book because of its allegorical nature. In that sense, the movie is mediocre. It mangles the allegory.
My pick: The Princess Bride. When I was growing up, my Mom wouldn't let me watch the movie until I read the book. Boy, am I glad (although I love the movie as well). I love how the book blurs reality and fiction and I love the parentheses (can you tell?). (BTW - Here's the response to the letter that Goldman wanted he readership to send in. Don't understand. Read the book.)
posted by iceberg273 at 5:55 PM on March 12, 2001
Whoops! Forgot the handy amazon book link above (this was before paste but after copy).
posted by iceberg273 at 5:59 PM on March 12, 2001
posted by iceberg273 at 5:59 PM on March 12, 2001
« Older Don't make Hunter mad. | New adminstration, same old barbarism. Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Amazon Sales Rank: 3
Go figure.
posted by rodii at 7:36 PM on March 10, 2001