2011 Reading Challenge

Rosa has read 0 books toward a goal of 100 books.
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Monday, April 28

Julius Caesar by Shakespeare

So much better than I remember at 15. I had completely forgotten about Caesar's ghost and really anything except for Caesar's death. I found the battle scenes exciting and the citizens of Rome, idiots.  When I read this the first time, I remember being impressed with Antony and feeling bad for Caesar. This time, I can enjoy the more subtle complexities of each character and can understand why serious actors are drawn to them. My pity now lies with Brutus. Poor dumb Brutus. If Caesars fault was hubris, then Brutus' fault was honor. My 10th grade teacher would be impressed.

Friday, April 11

Gilded by Christina Farley

I really wanted to like this book. It was pretty fast paced, which was good, but I just didn't find myself liking any of the characters except the bad guy. I'm not the target audience, but I enjoy a lot of YA. Even though it was an interesting concept and the fact that it was re-telling a Korean myth was awesome, as a whole, the characters were one-dimensional and Jae in particular, too Mary Sue for my taste. There was a little too much imagery to the point that it was distracting. 

I would recommend it to a middle school audience. Good moral and female protagonist are a win. Just not for me. Will not be reading others in series, but wish the author luck. 15 Chapters were enough for me.