Monday, January 6, 2020

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:

I read quite a few historical fiction novels this past week. My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich was a unique look back into Harlem in the 80s. The main character has a very vivid imagination which makes for some at times confusing, but certainly lively narration. Words on Fire was another gmiddle grade lance into the past. This time into Lithuania during Russian occupation when books in the Lithuanian language were illegal. It's a compelling middle grade that will likely be popular. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Pirates was a companion novel to the YA The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, which I really enjoyed last year. It's a bit of a romp in the same style as the first. I was looking for something with a bit of humor following my reading of the adult fiction novel The Nickel Boys. Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad, wrote this look into a reform school in Florida. It's grim. No getting around it. The criminal justice system has always been flawed and this is another example of how some people have been affected by the cruelty of it.

Tell Me How You Really Feel was a nice contemporary YA romance with an amazing cover. Lalani of the Distant Sea is a nice middle grade island fantasy. Another middle grade, Midsummer's Mayhem, is a bit of magical realism in a twist on A Midsummer Night's Dream with a healthy dose of baking. I tried the recipe for Chocolate-Chunk Thyme Cookies with Citrus Zest and have eaten way too many cookies in the past 24 hours. I'm not super sold on the addition of thyme, but have been converted to including citrus zest in chocolate chip cookies for sure. Yum.

I Can Write the World is a fantastic picture book about sharing your voice. Party: A Mystery is super fun as far as I'm concerned, but frustrating for those who like stories neatly tied up with a bow by the end. Thanku is an excellent collection of poetry related to thankfulness. It's diverse in a few ways. It has a wide variety of authors, but also of poetry forms. I am eager to share it with students and staff.

The Coming Week:
I'm reading The Battle by Karuna Riazi and am not sure what else I'll start on, but I'm sure I'll find something fun. Have a great week filled with lovely reading.

Reading Challenge Updates: 
Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 10/500
Diversity on the Shelf 2019 - 8/250
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4 comments:

  1. Cheriee WeichelJanuary 6, 2020 at 8:36 PM

    You have piqued my interest in The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Pirates and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. Sometimes I need some light reading to balance out the heavy stuff.

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  2. BethJanuary 6, 2020 at 11:44 PM

    I just read a nonfiction book about the Dozier School for Boys, and I bet that was the school that was the inspiration of The Nickel Boys. No wonder it was a grim read! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Linda BJanuary 7, 2020 at 5:38 AM

    Yes, The Nickel Boys was a heartbreaking story, wish that many will read it. I still need to read Words on Fire & Lalani of The Distant Sea seems to have talk about Newbery, hoping to read soon. Thanks for all, Crystal. Your sharing adds to my list!

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  4. 2Shaye ♪♫January 11, 2020 at 2:11 PM

    I definitely agree about My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich -- she had a vivid imagination but it could get confusing, at times, knowing what was legit. I may have to give Lalani another try. It was probably my only DNF book in 2019. I really struggled to get into it, but I'd like to give it a shot in 2020. And I want to jump on the Montague Siblings bandwagon, now. Thanks for sharing, Crystal!

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