It's Monday! What are you reading? Is a wonderful community of readers, teachers, and librarians. Hosted by Jen over at Teach Mentor Texts along with Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers, participants share their reading adventures from the past week along with their reading plans for the week ahead.
My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.
*Sigh* I am in such a reading rut right now. I started reading:
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson. And it is a REALLY good book. But it's REALLY dense and it's not something I would call a page-turner. Don't get me wrong. The subject-matter is fascinating and the writing is stellar. It's just a book that takes time and careful reading and I don't have the patience for that right now... so I'm going to put it on pause and read this instead:
Stand-Off by Andrew Smith
Still reading with my ears:
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
I'm really enjoying this book, so what kept me from finishing it last week? Well, I discovered Serial, that's what! I spent my entire week listening to all 12 episodes of season 1. I couldn't stop. And now I'm impatiently waiting for season 2.
Picture books I read last week:
Hug Me by Simona Ciraolo
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Christopher Myers
Frozen Wild by Jim Aronsky
To the Sea by Cale Atkinson
Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Wherever You Go by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Penguin's Big Adventure by Salina Yoon
The White Book by Silvia Borando
Picture books I read last week that stood out in the pile:
Waiting by Kevin Henkes
I get the sense that this is a book the Caldecott committee is going to be discussing at length. It has beautiful illustrations, it bares no obvious lessons (award committees tend to shy away from didacticism), and disguises itself as a simple story shrouded in complexity. Henkes fills your heart with affection for these sweet, quirky toys sitting on the windowsill waiting...
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner, illustrated by John Parra
Cornelius is a beautiful tear-inducing modern folk hero.
And finally, if you missed last night's #nctechat on Twitter, check out the Storify archive. It was a celebration of all things YA Lit and it was hosted by Matt de la Pena and Jennifer Buehler.
I gave my ARC of the Anderson book to two different adults who seemed to like it, but none of my middle school readers would pick it up due to the size of the text! It just doesn't even seem YA to me... much older!
ReplyDeleteLoved your picture book pile! I would say my 2 standouts in the pile would be Waiting and To the Sea.
ReplyDeleteI still need to read Winger. Since it's YA, I've pushed it off since I can't pass it off to students. One day I'll get to it!
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ReplyDeletePodcasts are so evil! They're wonderful but they interrupt my audiobook time in a big way! I haven't started listening to Serial yet--for exactly the reason you mention. Pretty sure I'm going to binge listen. I'm currently obsessed with All The Books, another Book Riot podcast, that has got me reading a number of really good books for grown-ups.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read Cornelius. Happy Reading Week!
ReplyDeleteI just started the new AS King book & understand about the question, is this really what I want right now? Love the picture books, have some, have read some, & I agree that Waiting and Cornelius is just great. I'm still waiting for Frozen Wild, love those kinds of books, too.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand what you mean about Symphony for the City of the Dead. I haven't read it yet (it's on my list!) but I am reading Railsea by China Mieville right now, which I feel might be similar. It's really good, but takes A LOT of concentration and I can only read it in small spurts before my brain turns off, so it's taking me forever to finish! I think Anderson's Octavian Nothing is like that too. Excellent writing, but it takes a lot of effort on the reader's part.
ReplyDeleteI am in a rut too! It's the worst. I devoured Serial last December and have been listening to Undisclosed, a different podcast that deals with the same case. I also listen to All the Books and Mortified. So much good stuff! I have Stand Off at home, but I haven't opened it yet. Just like I have Lair of Dreams that hasn't been touched...I need the weather to be miserable so I can do some reading! Have a good week!
ReplyDelete~Megan
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Love Serial! My husband and I listened to the whole first season on our drive from VA to MI last winter. Really helped the time fly. Looking forward to reading Waiting!
ReplyDeleteI'm in a little bit of a reading rut as well, so I feel your pain. I should grab some more picture books to make my reading life a little more robust.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are loving Serial (Undisclosed next?). I was enthralled with it!
Happy reading this week! :)
I love keeping up with None of the Above (as I told you last week). I laughed when I read your comment about Serial. I remember the FB post! Ha! :) I haven't tried it, but I suspect I will fall hard like you have.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you managed to read some awesome picture books last week!
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