Saturday, April 13, 2019

Reading And Walking: A Single Shard

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Welcome to Reading and Walking, where I go for a stroll and attempt to listen to an entire audiobook. I’m going to review the book and show you what I saw on my walk. Simple, right? For this adventure, I chose to listen to A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. I chose it because it won the Newbery Medal in 2002, and it’s short. The audiobook is 3 hours, 3 minutes. I knew I could walk for that long and finish the book in one afternoon.



A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park



Genre: Middlegrade historical fiction
Pages: 192 (3hr, 3min audiobook)
Publication date: April 2001
Content warning: Homelessness, death, disease, verbal abuse, robbery, orphans
Available at: Amazon | Book Depository
Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated—until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself–even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission.


While listening, I did the same 7-mile walk on the Cherry Creek Regional Trail that I did last month. I realize it’s boring for me to do the same walk over again, but it’s not my fault! A few weeks ago, my part of the world got trapped in a bomb cyclone. The snow dropped by the cyclone melted quickly and flooded the paths near the creek. You have to be a duck to use those paths now.

This trek was much pleasanter than the last one. I didn’t get snowed on! None of my body parts froze! I didn’t question my life choices! When I started walking, it was 45°F (7°C) and windy. My phone kept informing me that I was damaging my ears because I needed to have the volume up really high to hear the book over the wind.


I may have disobeyed this sign.

*Sigh.* This is going to be a squishy walk. I should have listened to the sign.


There usually isn't a pond here.


A Single Shard is set in Korea during the twelfth century. The main character, Tree-ear, is an orphan boy who lives under a bridge and dreams of becoming a potter. One day, he accidentally wrangles his way into becoming an assistant to Min, one of Korea’s most well-respected potters. Min is too old to carry pots over the mountains and deliver them to the royal family, so Tree-ear takes on the task. (Of course) things go horribly wrong.

The plot is straightforward and easy to follow. I only had to rewind once because I got distracted (by ducks). The audiobook narrator, Graeme Malcolm, has a nice voice that never got on my nerves.

This might sound awful, but for me, the most relatable character is Min, the verbally abusive perfectionist who takes Tree-ear as an assistant. As a perfectionist myself, I can confirm that the author understands perfectionism. Min definitely feels the self-imposed stress of having to be more ambitious and creative than the other potters. He lashes out when things don’t go his way. I think a lot of readers know people like Min, or are similar to Min themselves.

A Single Shard is full of valuable lessons for young readers. Tree-ear learns that no job is fun all of the time. He’s eager to make a pot on the wheel, but first he has to chop wood for the kiln and cut clay from the river. Even then, he may not be allowed to make a pot. He learns that if you want to do something fun, you have to put in the hard work first.



The top of a bridge.

A prairie dog. Most of them run and bark when they see humans, but this one is brave (or stupid).

Look at the blue sky! I didn't get frozen this time.


There are three topics I don’t enjoy reading about in fiction: art, music, and sports. Those things are awesome in real life, but they lose their luster in books because you can’t see or hear them. There are a lot of details about pottery in this story. I learned some things, and I appreciate Tree-ear’s enthusiasm for art, but I struggled to make myself care. I’m just profoundly uninterested in pottery. It didn’t help that Tree-ear’s personality is about 90% pottery. He doesn’t have much of a life outside of his interest. He’s mostly pots, most of the time.

My biggest complaint is that the plot is disappointingly predictable. The book is called A Single Shard, and it’s about a kid who has to carry two fragile pots over the mountains. I’m pretty sure everyone can predict what’s going to happen to those poor pots. I spent about 1/3 of the book waiting for what I knew was going to happen.

So, I didn’t love the book. If you like art, I’d recommend it, but it’s not my favorite Newbery winner.



There's actually green grass along the creek!

Sleeping ducks.

Ducks with their heads in the water. They were humping loudly about a minute before I took this photo.


I ended up walking for the entire 3 hours and 3 minutes. I went a little over 7 miles. Along some parts of the path, the dog walkers and competitive cyclists were out in force. That means I didn’t see a ton of wildlife. I saw birds, mostly: hawks, crows, woodpeckers, and ducks. So many ducks. Sometimes I got too close to the weeds near the creek, and the ducks took off and almost decapitated me. Fun times. I’m looking forward to doing this again next month.











Do you listen to audiobooks? What are some short, awesome ones?




33 comments:

  1. I'm not a fan of art at all though I do love the painting The Scream! Other than that, artvand poetry switch me off. I am a big fan of ducks though! I love their quacks and personality!

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    1. I love ducks too! We hatched ducklings in our classroom when I was in elementary school. The babies are so cute and hyper.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. Thanks for both the review and photos of nature while you listened to the book. I haven't listened to an audio book in a long time. I'm hoping to bring one along this summer when I drive my daughter to camp. Your photo captions always make me laugh, so thank you for adding humor to my life.

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    1. Thanks! I’m trying really hard to get into audiobooks. I’m hoping they’ll help with my eye strain.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. Wow you walk really long walks. I would be so tired. Love the pictures. Sorry the book wasn't a winner.

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  4. Great sunny pictures! Sorry the book was not that good. Maybe next time.

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  5. I am impressed that you took a 3 hour walk! So many pretty things to see while you were out walking. I usually walk the track at my gym or the same path at the local park. I don't think that this would be a book for me but at least the narrator was good.

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    1. The narrator was good. Some of them are really annoying! When I had a gym membership, I’d walk on the track, but walking outside is more interesting.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  6. Hopefully there is somewhere new you will be able to walk to soon when the weather is being a bit more friendly! But I can imagine you enjoyed your walk a lot more when snow wasn't falling on you. I am glad you could read and walk and have a good day. Keep these kind of posts coming ;)

    My recent post: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2019/04/march-wrap-up-2019/

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    1. Walking several miles in snow and wind is not fun! I’m looking forward to reading and walking in summer.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  7. Your trail looks lovely. And I admire your resolve to walk as long as it takes to finish the book. I usually listen to audiobooks when I walk too, but never all in the one go!

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    1. It’s kind of hard to find short audiobooks. Eventually I might have to choose a longer one and break it up into multiple walks.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. Same walk, but different wonderful photos, so thats a win in my book. I'm sorry you had flooding. I saw pictures yesterday of some destroyed farms in the Midwest. I probably should have paid attention to what state it was. I hope things dry up soon. 👍✨

    I read a Middle Grade book a couple of years ago that went into lengthy, and many times boring, details about wooden marionette making AND baseball rules. Ha ha. I don't remember the name of it because it bored me to tears even as an adult. 😁

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    1. I like learning things, but some subjects make my eyes glaze over. Art is one of those subjects.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I like the idea of reading and walking, great pictures! I hope your next book is better for you.

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  10. I'm impressed by how long your walks are. I love to do audiobooks while I'm walking but I usually can't do more than an hour at a time. Sorry to hear the book wasn't a better read for you. I think the pottery talk would have bored me as well.

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    1. My feet are sore by the end of these walks, but I have fun taking pictures and listening to a book.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. This is such an awesome idea!! I'll have to try this soon! :-D I love all the photos you took along the way!

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  12. These walks you do are incredible. I don't think I have ever walked 7 miles. You're a rock star. I love audiobooks, but cannot think of any I listened to, which were under 8 hours. The series I am listening to right now is really long. Not fantasy book long, but around 12 hours per book, and I could read it a lot faster.

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    1. I’ve done a few hikes that were longer than 7 miles, but I don’t know the farthest I’ve ever walked in 1 day. Maybe 10-14 miles?

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. What a fantastic new feature! I love it! I feel terrible saying this, but Linda Sue Park's books always sound really EARNEST and EDUCATIONAL to me, which means I've never picked one up. I think she's even a local author.

    My son and I just took a seven minute walk (the library wasn't open yet) and saw some red winged blackbirds and lots of ducks.

    I just sorted my GR list by length, scrolled through a ton of picture books, and came up with these short books you might like. I don't know if they're all on audio, but probably.
    Darkness Visible by William Styron
    Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen (but I think you read this too?)
    Every Living Thing by Cynthia Rylant
    Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan Fenton
    A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
    Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
    Keesha's House by Helen Frost
    A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
    Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde
    Don't You Dare Read this Mrs. Dunphry by Margaret Peterson Haddix
    Truly Grim Tales by Priscilla Galloway
    and two shorter books my students always love when I read aloud: Orbiting Jupiter (Schmidt) and Girl, Stolen (Henry).

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    1. Thanks! I’ll have to see if my library has any of these on audio.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. What a great way to get longer walks in! I listen to audiobooks when I go out for a walk, but my walks are rarely over 20-30 minutes. Maybe I'll give your idea a try, once I get myself in a little better condition.

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  15. "Reading and walking" is such a cool post idea, although I have to say I don't know that I could walk for 3 hours straight - that sounds really daunting! You must have great stamina. :-)

    The only short audiobook I recall reading was Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (1 hour, 44 minutes). I actually tend to seek out long audiobooks because I commute 2 hours a day for work and need something that's going to last me a few days.

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    1. I have Long Way Down on my TBR list. I’ll have to see if my library has it on audio.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. I love seeing all your pictures, you definitely have lovely areas to walk!

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  17. Neat AJ! I was really excited for this book because KOREA but yeah I've read a book with a little of this pottery style in it and I think I know all I want to know. Your walk photos though were worth it. ❤️

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  18. Sorry you had such a squishy walk. I hope it dries up. You got some reading in and some beautiful pictures tho. =)

    Mary

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  19. What a fun way to tackle a book! Sorry you didn't love this one, but at least you had ducks to entertain you. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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