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 want to see more of my reading, visit my Goodreads shelves here. 

Thoughts for the New Year: Jen Vincent is an encourager and I learn a lot from her. She usually chooses a word for the year (you can read about that here) and I have done it a few times in the past. I pondered many words and finally settled on Reach. I will be reaching for a lot of things--like a new job--and will be reaching out to connect with new people when we move back to California. We haven't lived there for 20 years so it won't be completely like starting over, but I don't see any familiar names at the school where I used to work. I will also be reaching in physical therapy as I recover from my knee injury which my doctor tells me will take quite a few months. There are a lot of changes ahead and much work, but we are also excited for the opportunities that now exist too. And I found a song to go with my word:

Jess Lifshitz (if you're not following her, you'll want to do that especially if you're an educator) posted about her New Year's tradition of choosing a poem here. I looked for one that fit how I'm feeling and landed on one by Zetta Elliott called We Shall Overcome. 

My reading goals are pretty vague this year with no specific challenges except having put a number in on my Goodreads account. The only other thing is that I want to finally, finally catch up with all of the ARCs and interviews that I have committed to and hopefully I will also stop saying yes so much. The ARCs sound wonderful and I really do want to read them all, but invariably I accept more than I can even begin to review.

Last Week's Reading: 

In an attempt to deal with the backlog of ARCs, I read four YA books that I have had for a while. I loved the Robin Hood retellings like The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley and Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon so I looked forward to reading Travelers Along the Way by Amina Mae Safi. As in Kekla Magoon's tale, the main character is a young woman. In this version she is also Muslim and there are characters from a variety of racial and religious backgrounds. We also get to see into the life of Queen Isabella and not just King Richard. I'll review it more thoroughly later, but definitely recommend it. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a truly lovely fantasy and you'll want to watch for it later this year. Up All Night is a collection of short stories that are unrelated, but each take place over the span of one night. While there are a few upbeat stories, I have to say that there were more melancholy, scary, or unsettling stories than I had anticipated. Given the night theme, I suppose it was to be expected, but I missed that huge clue. I enjoyed it for the most part. Finally, Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols is a nonfiction book highlighting protest art. It also encourages young people to get out there and let their thoughts, voices, and wishes be made known through their own art. All of these ARCs will be explored more at a later time over at Rich in Color.

The other book I read with Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World and I basically read it because as we prepare to move, I'm trying to get through unread books on my shelves so I can determine if they are keepers or not. This one really isn't, but it wasn't terrible. It's a memoir by a couple who slowly became book collectors. Not like I collect books, but looking for those of monetary value or those that are rare and "important." They aren't snooty or anything, but it's just not quite my cup of tea. I kept reading though because it was one that was easy to stop and start so I didn't have a problem setting it aside.

The Coming Week: I'm still spending a lot of time with Spanish and Korean and that really impacts my reading, but I still hope to read a few more ARCs. I'm working hard in an attempt to be at a conversational level with Spanish by the time we move in the summer and wI ant to know enough Korean to at least read a picture book aloud even if I don't know the meaning of every single word. May 2022 bring you many wonderful reading experiences!