Booking Through Thursday - Favorite Reads this Year

It’s an old question, but a good one . . . What were your favorite books this year? List as many as you like … fiction, non-fiction, mystery, romance, science-fiction, business, travel, cookbooks … whatever the category. But, really, we’re all dying to know. What books were the highlight of your reading year in 2007?

I was hoping for this BTT question! I decided to make a list based on the reading challenges I did this year since that's how I kept track of most of what I read. I started this blog in July so this represents only the last half of 2007.

Book to Movie Challenge: My favorite was Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

Canadian Reading Challenge: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields is in the running for my favorite of the year!

Book Awards Reading Challenge: This one was a tie. I really liked Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haight. However, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is also in the running for my personal book of the year.

2nds Challenge: I was pleasantly surprised by The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

Favorite New Series: This wasn't actually a reading challenge but it was a series I found this year. I am really enjoying the Andy Carpenter novels by David Rosenfelt.

Least Favorite of the Year: I know this wasn't the question, but I wanted to put it out there anyway. I absolutely hated Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell and The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell.

And now .... my favorite book of 2007!

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I read this one for the Newbery Project as well as for the Reading Awards Challenge. It is the winner of the Newbery Award, which honors the best in children's literature. This is the same author as Because of Winn-Dixie so I guess this also qualifies as a 2nds, even though I completed that challenge.

Despereaux is a mouse who goes on a quest to save his beloved Princess Pea from the rats in the dungeon. A servant, Miggery Sow, gets involved in the rat's evil plans. The story is one part fairy tale, one part quest story, one part fantasy, and one part bedtime story. The author relates that her son's friend asked for a story about a hero with large ears, and this book is that story.

Strengths of The Tale of Despereaux: The entire story is a metaphor filled with light and dark, goodness and evil, but it is not quite so clear cut. The rats live in the darkness, or evil, dungeon, but one longs for the light. That's part of why he captures the princess. It's more morally ambiguous than it sounds which makes for excellent discussion with children. Despereaux, the mouse hero, is not a perfect character either since he broke mouse law and was sentenced to the dark of the dungeon. DiCamillo gives all the characters a great deal of nuance which caters to children's creative thinking. I'd love to do comparison and contrast maps on these characters with children.

Weaknesses of The Tale of Despereaux: At the beginning, I was somewhat annoyed when the author (or story teller) broke the "wall" and spoke directly to the reader. At first, I felt that she was being demeaning to the reader. As I continued to read, it felt more like being told a story where the story teller interjects as a part of the performance. I can see how this might annoy some people.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I think my favorite line was in the "Coda" where the story teller (author) remembers that Gregory, a character in the story, told Despereaux that "Stories are light." I could probably go on forever about the light metaphor, and probably would in a discussion group. This is another of those books that makes me want to teach fourth, fifth, or sixth grade again!