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.
Hello, friends. It's been a while. I just haven't felt like blogging since the election happened. I'm at a point right now where I'm trying not to let the despair take over but it's hard. I never even wrote a post-NCTE wrap up post, which usually gives me great joy to relive the wonderful experiences I had at such a fulfilling conference. I've also been busy with Walden committee reading so it's been hard to blog about books that I've been reading on my own given the volume of YA titles I'm reading for consideration right now. Needless to say, I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately. But I'm here. And I'm determined to get back in the swing of writing and sharing my passion for books. So here's a snippet of my reading from the past month:
I finished reading:
The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely
I had the pleasure of hearing Brendan talk about the premise of this book at a Simon & Schuster dinner at NCTE and it immediately became my plane reading on my flight home. It did not disappoint. This modern retelling of The Odyssey takes place on a roadtrip and has a feminist spin. Kiely's desire to celebrate consent, coupled with his protagonist's honorable desire to help his grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, visit the place where he was married so he wouldn't forget his wife, makes him one of the most memorable protagonists of 2016.
The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz
I loved that the characters in this novel felt real -- like they were your own friends. A book I will definitely be recommending to my middle school readers.
I finished reading with my ears:
The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
A book about the price of magic -- and not the monetary price. The book has kind of a We Were Liars vibe to it, so if you loved that book, chances are you will enjoy this one.
Still reading:
March: Book 3 by John Lewis an Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell
All of these sound really interesting. I've read the first volume in the March graphic novel series and I am looking forward to reading the next two. Thanks for your post!
ReplyDeleteI need to read the March books mostly because of how they relate to today.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked Last True Love Story; I think it is a special journey for all involved.
Happy reading this week :)
I've got Last True Love Story on my list. I've backed off from my YA reading because I feel like I have way too many MGs I need to get to!
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough time to read lengthy books (for me, at least) as things are really busy at school. We're all exhausted and are desperate for Winter Break. Luckily, that starts next week, and I'm hopeful to get a caught up a bit, too. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI feel you! I've struggled a lot since election day. It's been exhausting and emotionally draining. I'm glad you're back to IMWAYR. I recently read March Book 3 also and found it necessary to finally watch Selma.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the March books although I have the first two. There is much to read that I know would be enjoyable, but just so much time. Thanks for the others, too, Beth. They are new to me. I hope the rest of your year fills with hope. It has been challenging since the election, I agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same blogging funk, though mine started long before the election. Really hard to get the mojo back once it's gone. Also really hard not to fall into despair with all the post-election horror. It seems like it just gets worse every day. I loved the first March but haven't read the other two yet. Maybe over the holidays. Nate Powell is one of my favorite graphic novel artists.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of interesting books on your list today. I haven't seen any of the March series, but think I will have to get to them next year.
ReplyDeleteI love the book covers of The Last True love story and The art of holding on and letting go - they look like books I'd definitely enjoy. I can sympathize with the blogging funk, we usually have a month's worth of post scheduled, but now, it's a struggle to even do a week's advance post.
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