Howl's Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones

I rented the movie version of Howl’s Moving Castle a few months ago, and it was a bit confusing but still quite fun. The book possibly makes less sense than the movie, which I didn’t think was really possible – how could anime come out as a logical story? But, it sort of happened.

At any rate, while some things were explained more clearly in the book, I didn’t really understand the last bit at all. Maybe someday when I’m not sitting in Jarom’s history class trying to ignore the professor talking about ancient geography, I’ll try reading the book again. Until then, I’m just a little too confused to really know if I liked it much or not. Although I think I did.

The Thief Lord

by Cornelia Funke

 
I borrowed this from Mandy because she said it’s a double-excellent book. Personally, I like Inkheart loads more. The Thief Lord is so much less of a complex story…and although the characters are likeable, I never felt like I really connected with them. Added to that, the plot seemed pasted together in places rather than properly flowing.
 
But, I’ve read much worse books than this. Maybe it just wasn’t Funke’s best piece of writing, or maybe I was just expecting something to equal Inkheart. Either way, this doesn’t prevent me from reading (and hopefully enjoying) any of her other work.

No Contest

by Alfie Kohn

Because No Contest was assigned reading for my Social Problems class, I read it differently than I would have if I just picked it up. We were required to write a 3-5 page essay discussing a specific aspect of the book or a general thesis of Kohn’s that we would then agree or disagree with. This meant that I was looking for something to babble on about – but something I could babble interestedly about.
 
Part of what Kohn says is that competitive sports and games are actually less fun than non-competitive sports and games, and the reason is that all motivation becomes extrinsic. You play to win. In cooperative games, the point of playing is the pleasure of playing – not a reward at the end. I thought this was Kohn’s most well-supported claim, and the most interesting one. Some of the other chapters were cluttered and overly academic, which made them hard to get through. But I think the book is worth taking a look at.