This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other. The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.
I post about my reading here, at the YA blog Rich in Color and as crystalreading at Storygraph.
Last week I was able to attend a Intensive Spanish Summer Institute at Lake Tahoe Community College. I had thought my college days were behind me, but this was such an awesome opportunity. There were Spanish classes all day every day and I learned a lot.
While I was gone, my family rescued a dog so now we have what appears to be a border collie mix that is somewhere around one year old. That's quite an adjustment since we haven't had a pet around for more than three years. It's fun though since he is content to be on the floor near me when I'm reading.
Last Few Weeks: I really enjoyed the YA thriller Beast by Richard Van Camp. I reviewed it for Rich in Color here. I also adored the saphic fantasy Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe. It was definitely cozy and cute.
A fun middle grade book was On These Magic Shores by Yamile Saied Méndez. I was a little concerned when a major plot point was tryouts for the school play and it was Peter Pan, but the characters acknowledge and even push back on the Native representation in the play.
I was able to visit Birchbark Books in Minneapolis when we flew over to visit with our adult children in July. There I purchased Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson-Trudeau with Phoenix Wilson and illustrated by Megan Kyak-Monteith. It's a lovely telling of Phoenix's actual life experience of feeling different and then learning about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture.
Currently Reading: Because my Spanish acquisition is coming along, I have finally started to read books at a higher level than picture books and Elefante & Cerdita. This means that my reading has slowed way down, but I'm getting more Spanish practice. It is taking me a long time, but I am progressing through the Spanish version of The Wild Robot - Robot Salvaje by Peter Brown. I've been reading and listening to it. The chapters are very short and it feels great to keep finishing them in a short amount of time. I am also most of the way through Easy Spanish Reader by William T. Tardy which has a bunch of short stories and informational texts that have brief comprehension checks at the end.
I am also excited because after a spectacular session about the Asian diaspora in Spanish speaking countries by Alejandro Lee at the Spanish institute in Lake Tahoe, I started reading the adult graphic novel Gazpacho agridulce: Una autobiografía chino-andaluza by Quan Zhou Wu. The professor had a copy in class and then I found a used copy online and it arrived at my house over the weekend.
I am also most of the way through Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao which is about college students and is generally light hearted. There is an exploration of a-spec identities along with college life, online interactions and communication mis-steps.
K-Drama Viewing: Since it is summer and I'm not working for a few more weeks, I got a subscription to Viki so I am catching up on dramas that aren't available elsewhere. I'm finally watching Moon Lovers which has the reputation of being a tear-jerker and heartbreaker so I expect sometime later this week to need a box of tissues.
I've binge-watched several dramas so far this summer that I enjoyed: Perfect Marriage Revenge, Lovely Runner, Love Scout, Reborn Rich, and The Story of Park's Marriage Contract.
Also, while not a K-drama, I have watched K-Pop Demon Hunters three times now. Once in English, once in Spanish and once in Korean. The music is soooo fun. Did you know that the YA author Maurene Goo is married to one of the directors? That's how I learned about it.
