Saturday, March 10, 2012

50/50 Challenge: Book It!

Do you remember Book It! that ingenious incentive to get kids reading? A personal pan pizza all to moi? As a kid, a book nerdy kid no less, I could ask for no more. When my friend first told me about the 50/50 Challenge, my first question was: what do I get? And you know what I get? Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Call me crazy, but even as an adult, I still enjoy prizes! Maybe that's why I've been lagging behind on my challenge, especially when it comes to reading. And, I love reading! However, a recent visit to see one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult, read from her newest book Lone Wolf has re-energized my reading efforts. So now I can say I have achieved reading a whopping two books for the 50/50 Challenge.

 Photo: jodipicoult.com

Songs of the Humpback Whale is one of the first Jodi Picoult's books. And now I can say there are only three of her published books that I have yet to read - all three which are on my coffee table. SotHW was not my favorite of her novels and that pains me to say because I am a HUGE fan of her work, her writing style and her dedication. She writes a book every nine months with three months press tour. She has been doing this for the past twenty years, so it's easy to do the math. And these are heavy-hitting, thought provoking, well-researched books. She is an idol for sure. SotHW is the story of Jane, who leaves her emotionally and sometimes physically abusive husband, to travel cross country with her daughter Rebecca on the way to the East Coast. Her brother Joely guides her by letters and her husband tracks her using his oceanographer skills. In true Picoult fashion, the characters are told first-person from each point of view. This writing style helps controversial or conflicting stories be told with more honesty and less judgment as to which side is the "right one" to take.

The next books, which will be numbers 3, 4, and 5 are: Harvesting the Heart, Mercy and her latest, Lone Wolf. Already though, Jodi Picoult is ready to release her new book next year - The Storyteller. So if she can produce the work she does in the time that she does, I guess it shouldn't be so much of a stretch for me to at least try to read a little bit faster.