It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!
Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.
If you want to know more about what I've been reading, visit my Goodreads shelf.
I re-read Diary of a Tokyo Teen
because we are trying to figure out what we want to do in Tokyo when we
are there next month. It's a fun memoir of a Japanese American teen
visiting her grandparents and exploring Tokyo.
A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota
is an excellent collection of essays written by authors who are
Indigenous or People of Color. Readers get to see race through the eyes
of the authors. Living in WI, I see some of the same things in our
community. It's a challenging read and is illuminating for this white
reader. One of the essays was by Bao Phi and that's how I found the
book.
I picked up my copy of The Way You Make Me Feel
at Red Balloon Books in St. Paul. It was super cool to meet Maureen
Goo. I enjoy her books so much. So far they have all been humorous
contemporary fiction. Her book I Believe in a Thing Called Love is the one that got me hooked on Korean dramas.
Emergency Contact
was another contemporary fiction with a bit of romance. I stayed up
until 1:00 on a school night to finish it. This one, along with The Way
You Make Me Feel, had a few reviews on Goodreads that were complaining
about the lack of likability in the main character. I really enjoyed the
protagonists in both though and appreciate the lack of perfect
"niceness."
Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea was
one a friend had just read recently and recommended. It was certainly
interesting especially given the current political situation and the
fact that I'll be in South Korea next month.
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
is a much needed book that shares the history of the rainbow flag. It
does share some information about Harvey Milk, but the main focus is the
flag. I appreciate having a simple way to show this part of our
country's history.
The Best We Could Do
is a very touching graphic novel memoir that looks at family
connections and especially how the past of our parents can shape us.
This is Thi Bui's first published graphic novel and I really hope there
will be more.
The Coming Week:
I have Meet Cute, Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground, and Amal Unbound on my shelf and hope to read all of them. Happy reading!
Reading Challenge Updates:
Goodreads Challenge 2018 - 107/800
Diversity on the Shelf 2018 - 65/300
#MustReadin2018 - 12/30
So many books. . . I want to read The Best We Could Do & have it on my list, noted the others you shared, too, Crystal. Lots are talking about Amal Unbound!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing your thoughts on Emergency Contact. I received my copy in the mail the day it was published, but my 14 year old daughter grabbed it up before I could start it. She's just almost finished, so I'll have to work it into my short list of reading. And how neat that you're re-reading Diary of a Tokyo Teen in preparation for your travels! Have a wonderful reading week, Crystal!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great memoirs on this list. I love that you reread Diary of a Tokyo Teen to try to determine traveling locations. You make me smile. :)
ReplyDeleteReally want to pick up this book about Harvey Milk and the rainbow flag.
ReplyDeleteThe Best We Could Do was one of my best reads last year. So powerful, and so riveting.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in reading A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota if I can find a copy here. I just finished reading We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It was also "challenging and illuminating. Bao Phi is a writer who's work I have been appreciating more and more. Have you read Thousand Star Hotel?
ReplyDelete