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Monday, December 30, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading?


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 go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

On the Blogs:

Last week in books:

This was the pile I had at the beginning of winter break. I haven't read all of them in the past week, but I have made added a few and ultimately have made a big dent in the pile. Several of them I shared last Monday and here are the others I finished over this week:


Feel Free was on of my #MustReadin2019 books. It is a great collection of Zadie Smiths' essays

Dear Sweet Pea is a nice middle grade book about a girl who is dealing with the aftermath of a divorce while navigating changing friendships. 

Children of Virtue and Vengeance is a sequel to Children of Blood and Bone that I was eagerly awaiting. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was certainly full of excitement and adventure.

Gender Queer was shelved in the adult graphic novel section at our library, but could very well be in the YA. It is a memoir that shares the author's search for gender identity. I found it to be very helpful. I know someone who had shared many of these same experiences so it was interesting to see that on the page.

White Fragility was as I expected. I've seen videos and have read some of the essays written by the author. It's a good book to really get white people thinking. It provides some vocabulary for things I have experienced. I appreciate this call to action. She points to us to do the work within and we might not be able to talk others into it, but by seeing the change in us, others may follow.

Trust Exercise - this is a very unique novel that one the National Book Award. I wrote a review of it on Goodreads, but summed up, if you like to admire technique and construction of fiction, you may want to read it. Otherwise, it may annoy or even bore you as I've noticed in other reviews. I appreciated some aspects of it and that was mostly in the craft.

One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter - this is a humorous collection of essays that shape a memoir. 

The Coming Week:
Up next I have Indian Horse, The Nickel Boys and a few other novels sitting around. I will see how much more I can fit into the last three days of vacation. Happy reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 915/550
Diversity on the Shelf 2019 - 345/275
#MustReadin2019 - 27/30

Sunday, December 29, 2019

#MustReadin2019 Final Update


#MustReadin2019 is a wonderful book community activity hosted by Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That. I love this group of people who are setting goals and reading through some awesome books.

For 2019, I chose this fun group of books:


I've managed to finish 27 of the 30 books and most have been a treat to read so I'm glad I picked them. I read 20 of them in the spring and summer and here are the titles I read this fall:

Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley - an upper middle grade book about a young girl learning more about her family history while visiting with them on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.

Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith - an interesting collection of essays by Smith featuring a wide range of topics. I read part of it with my eyes, and part with my ears. The audio is excellent.

If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim - great historical fiction set in South Korea.

Everyday People ed by Jennifer Baker - excellent collection of short stories by a wide variety of authors.

All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Niciole Chung - a memoir that really focuses on adoptions and the complications that come with it.

Undocumented: A Worker's Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh - a picture book for older readers about issues surrounding undocumented workers.

Breakout by Kate Messner - a middle grade novel about a community where a jail breakout has occurred. It delves into inequities in the criminal justice system and just in general. There are a lot of opportunities for thought and discussion.

Still to Read
Coyote Tales by Thomas King
Go Home! ed by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
Make Space by David

These three are books that I wasn't able to obtain. They aren't in our library system and are also not available for interlibrary loan so I'm not sure if I will try harder to get to them. We'll see. I am not sure what my plan is for 2020, but it's fun to start thinking about what I might want to choose. Have a great end of the year.

Other Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 915/550
#MustReadin2019 - 27/30

Monday, December 23, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading?


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 go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.


All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung - excellent memoir about Chung's family and transracial adoption and the complicated nature of that part of their lives.

Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott - powerful poetry collection inspired by the #SayHerName campaign. (I'll be reviewing it on Rich in Color in January)

Mindful of Race by Ruth King - King offers excellent suggestions for how to talk about race with one another in ways that can bring about change in ourselves. This was a book I was reading with a Racial Affinity Group (one of her suggestions).

If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim - while I did enjoy this historical fiction book set in Korea, what actually made it most memorable is the recipe I found while reading. The family was making hotteok. The ingredients sounded similar to the walnut cakes I ate in Korea which is a lovely combination of flavors. I sought out and found a wonderful recipe and enjoyed eating these sweet pancakes while I finished reading.

Akissi by Marguerite Abouet - a delightful romp with Akissi in and through her community in Ivory Coast. 

The Coming Week:


Right now I'm reading Feel Free by Zadie Smith on audio, White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and Starting a Movement by Ken Williams. I also have a significant pile of books checked out from the public library to read over school vacation. Most likely I will read the majority of those. Have a great week filled with reading and much joy.

Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 907/550
Diversity on the Shelf 2019 - 341/275
#MustReadin2019 - 25/30

Monday, December 2, 2019

It's Monday! What are you reading?


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 go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last week in books: 



What I enjoyed in the past few weeks:
Max Loves Muñecas by Zetta Elliott - lovely early chapter book
Everyday People ed by Jennifer Baker - anthology of short stories (not Kidlit)
Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes - YA memoir in verse
My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D Villanueva - middle grade contemporary novel
Waking Up White by Debby Irving - adult memoir
My Furry Foster Family by Debbi Michiko Florence
The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce ed by Angie Manfredi

The Coming Week:
These are the books I'm currently reading. I'd like to get to at least one or two of the books on my #MustReadin2019 list too. Happy reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 868/550
Diversity on the Shelf 2019 - 316/275
#MustReadin2019 - 22/30