Book 27 - The Well-Educated Mind by Bauer

The Well-Educated Mind by Bauer is designed to assist adults in reading and understanding the great literary works of fiction, autobiography, history, drama, and poetry.  She starts with the basics of setting aside time to read; keeping a journal of notes, summaries, questions, and responses; and laying out a basic plan to work through each book for understanding.  From chapter 5 to the end, each chapter tackles one specific genre of literature and gives a brief history of that genre from its beginnings to the present.  This is followed by a discussion of how to evaluate the book in three increasing complex levels of analysis:  grammar (understanding the basics of what is being said), logic (determining the overall message of the work), and rhetoric (evaluating the implications of the author's ideas).  This is followed by an annotated reading list in chronological order of suggested books to read.

I would say overall this makes an excellent introduction into reading great literary works.  As with any lists, there are some books I consider more important, some I will probably skip, and a few that I will probably add to the list.  The introductory material is excellent as are the chapters on genre.  I thought the poetry chapter was not as well developed as the other genres, but that may just be because the variation and complexity of that genre is extremely difficult to summarize within the confines of a single chapter.  Still, overall I enjoyed the book very much and will be using it in the upcoming year with my high school student as we begin our study of the Great Books.

Book 26 - The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian by Riordan is the fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson series.  Under the sea Poseidon is engaged in a furious battle against the Titan Oceanus.  Hades, Demeter, and Persephone sit in Hades refusing to engage in battle despite all of the arguments of Nico.  The remaining gods are in battle against the monster Typhon as he rages across the continental US toward Mt. Olympus in Manhattan.  While they are engaged, Kronos launches his assault on Manhattan against the desperate struggles of Percy and the other demigods of Camp Half-Blood.  The final moment of the prophecy approaches when Percy turns 16 and must make a choice that will either save Olympus or bring about its downfall.

The final book of the Percy Jackson series is packed with non-stop action, heroics, friendship, and sacrifice and is I would say the best book in the series.  A fun light summer read for ages 12 and up.

Book 25 - The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Riordan is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson series.  As Kronos continues to gain strength and more and more ancient monsters are reformed, the campers at Camp Half-Blood discover a weakness in their camp defenses.  Hidden within the woods what appears to be a crack in a rock is actually one of many entrances leading into the Labyrinth.  Anyone possessing the means to travel through the Labyrinth could move a huge army into the camp at a moment's notice.  Annabeth accepts the quest to traverse the Labyrinth in search of the workshop of Daedalus in order to convince the inventor to side with the Greeks.  She chooses Percy, Grover, and Tyson to accompany her on the task.  Try as they might, they are unable to navigate where they with to go.  Along the way, they rescue a hundred handed one from Alcatrez, find the missing half-blood Nico, son of Hades, and clean out the Aegean stable.  Then the group splits up as Grover and Tyson seek the missing Pan, and Annabeth and Percy enlist the help of Rachel, a mortal who can see through the Mist to actually navigate the Labyrinth.  But they are running out of time, for the Titan forces are also in the maze, Kronos has reformed, and the attack on the camp is imminent.

I still dislike the use of first person narration, but I have to say this book was definitely the best in the series so far.  I'd recommend it for ages 12 and up.

Book 24: How to Read a Book

How to Read a Book by Adler is designed to help readers "whose main purpose in reading books is to gain increased understanding."  The book progresses through 4 levels of reading:  elementary reading (the basic skills of reading), inspectional reading (pre-reading to determine the type of book and how it is set up), analytical reading (reading with the purpose of understanding), and syntopical reading (reading across several books to put together ideas).  The majority of the book is dedicated to expounding the third type of reading first by setting up general rules to follow with a focus mainly on expository literature.  The first stage of analytical reading involves determining the type of book, its main idea, its structure, and its purpose.  The second stage involves determining the key terms and how they are being used, identifying the propositions and arguments, and determining the degree of success the author has in achieving his purpose.  He then argues in favor of the importance of reading the book in its entirety and with an open mind before criticizing its contents as well as setting limits on the criticism based on the author being uninformed, misinformed, illogical, or having incomplete analysis.  The remainder of the book discusses how to apply these rules to various types of books with the exception of the final chapters dedicated to syntopical reading.

I would consider this book to be for ages 16 and up.  It is well laid out and understandable.  Because its main focus is expository books and it only deals briefly with fiction and poetry, it's not really designed for working with that type of literature.  If your main interest in improving your reading relates to literary analysis, then this is not the book to read.  It is an excellent primer for non-fiction, and I consider it worth the considerable amount of time I invested in reading it.

Book 23: The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse by Riordan is the third book in the Percy Jackson series.  The Olympic gods and the Titans are both actively seeking and recruiting as many half-bloods as they can find.  When Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth travel to a military school to rescue two half-bloods, they find themselves face-to-face with a manticore.  As they battle the monster, the goddess Artemis arrives and wounds the monster, which then jumps over the nearby cliff with Annabeth.  Percy tells the goddess everything that the manticore said before the battle.  She is particularly interested in what he says about the stirring of ancient monsters that have not been seen for a long time.  She admits to sensing a new monster and decides to send her hunters back to Camp Half-Blood to go hunting alone for the ancient creature.  Shortly after her arrival in camp both Percy and the head hunter Zia have dreams about the goddess being captured and in deep trouble.  The oracle warns that 5 must be sent on the quest and predicts that one will be lost, another must withstand the Titan's curse, and a third will be killed by a parent.  Despite the ominous warning 2 hunters including Zia and the girl from the military school must join forces with Thalia, Percy, and Grover in a quest to rescue Artemis and return one newly freed Titan to his rightful place.

The Titan's Curse is on par with the first two books in the series.  I still maintain my disagreement with Riordan's choice of narrator.  As with the other two books, some portions of the book are predicable to someone familiar with Greek mythology, but it doesn't detract from the face-paced, non-stop action in the story.  Another light fluffy read for those who enjoy Greek mythology.

Book 22: The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis is the third story in the Chronicles of Narnia series and is set during the reign of King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy.  The story begins in Calorman, south of Narnia, with a young boy named Shasta who has worked his whole life for a fisherman.  One day, a nobleman stops at their home for the night and asks to buy the boy.  Shasta overhears the fisherman explain how he found the boy as an infant, and the two men begin bargaining over a price.  The boy slips out to the stable and wonders aloud what type of master the nobleman would be until suddenly he unexpectedly receives an answer from Bree, the nobleman's horse.  Bree is a Narnian born talking horse, who wishes more than anything to escape Calorman and return home, so the pair agree to make their escape together that very night.  As they journey north one night they meet Avaris, a young Calorman girl running away to escape marrying an old man, and Hwin, a Narnian mare who like Bree was captured at a young age and brought to Calorman.  The four continue on together until they suddenly become separated in the city of Tashbaan when Shasta is mistaken by the visiting party of King Edmund to be young Prince Corin of Archenland.  The encounter proves useful as Shasta learns how to cross the great desert beyond the city and Avaris overhears the plans of Prince Rabadash to conquer Archenland and retrieve the Queen Susan from Narnia to be his bride.  The four must move quickly to warn King Lune of Archenland before the Calorman army launches its surprise attack; but when Avaris is wounded and the horses exhausted, Shasta must continue alone on foot.

The Horse and His Boy is one of the less popular books in the Narnia series, but it is still an amazing story and well worth reading again and again.  I highly recommend it for ages 8 and up.

Book 21: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis is perhaps the most beloved and well-known book in his Chronicles of Narnia series.  Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy are sent to the country to stay at the house of a professor during the summer in order to escape the London air raids.  While in the house, Lucy steps into a wardrobe and suddenly finds herself in a wintry wood standing near a lamp post.  She makes the acquaintance of a faun named Tumnus and has tea with him before returning home.  Later Edmund and Lucy both arrive in Narnia.  Edmund is discovered by the White Witch, who holds the land under her wintry spell, and unsuspecting eats the magical food that he offers her.  She then bids him to return home and bring his brother and two sisters back to her castle so that she can meet them.  When all four children reach Narnia a few days later, they make the acquaintance of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.  Then while Edmund sets out to the witch's castle alone, the other children travel with the Beavers to meet the King of Narnia, Aslan, for help in saving both Mr. Tumnus and their brother Edmund from the White Witch.  The remaining story unfolds in a vivid, unforgettable series of events that having captivated both adults and children for decades.

Definitely a must read book for all.  I think they could easily be enjoyed by children as young as five.  The entire series has been my 9yo DS's favorite books on CD for nearly four years now.