Category: It’s Monday!

Posts to reflect on my reading week.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/12

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I don’t know exactly what is happening lately that made me miss out on this weekly blog post for two weeks in a row.  I guess it was due to the busier Sundays in the last few weeks, which have actually felt like Spring (FINALLY).  
This will be a little longer list than usual since I am writing about 3 weeks worth of books.  

Books I Finished:

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal was a Printz Honor book this year.  While I recognized the literary value of this book, it took me a long time to get through it.  I found myself not exactly avoiding reading, but not too excited to pick the book up again.  It was an interesting premise, but I was not able to really like any of the characters and that made it difficult for me to enjoy.  I would definitely still recommend this book, because it is a good story and well-written, it just wasn’t to my liking.  (I think the Printz committee from this year and I have different tastes. This is the second Honor book that I did not really enjoy all that much).  
I enjoyed Ruthless by Sara Shephard as much as I have enjoyed any of the other Pretty Little Liars books.  It is fascinating to me how this author is able to keep the story going.  I have fun with the twists and turns.  
The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer was just as compelling as Life As We Knew It. I liked reading about Alex and his sisters and how they were trying to survive in Manhattan after the moon was pushed out of orbit.  I read this book almost in one sitting.  I highly recommend this series.  
Heartbroken is a thriller by Lisa Unger.  I enjoyed the mystery and how the stories of three women were woven together.  It was definitely one that I had a hard time putting down towards the end of the book.  
I was so excited on Tuesday when this book showed up in the mail.  I thought it was coming out later in May so I was pleasantly surprised.  Then, the power in my house went out on Wednesday about 10 minutes after I got home.  All there was left to do was to read by flashlight all evening.  I was almost finished by the time I went to bed.  Then, I brought the book to school on Thursday.  My students enjoyed watching my reactions to the events in the last 20 pages or so.  I was happy to finish so soon so I could pass the book on to the student who I celebrated with when I received the book.  I can’t wait to talk about it with her.  
One of my students was really enjoying this series earlier this year.  He was quite insistent that I should read the books when I had the chance.  I did enjoy the story, but it is not really my cup of tea.  
I liked how This World We Live In brought together the characters from Life As We Knew It and The Dead and The Gone. This series really has a bleak world, but the characters do their best to make the most of what they have.  Post-apocalyptic books are so depressing, but I really enjoy the way Susan Beth Pfeffer imagines the scenarios that might happen.  

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am still listening to Rotters. I will most likely finish this book this week. I also am reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville and Ashes by Ilsa Bick.   

What’s Next?

I will probably read The Shade of The Moon this week to finish the series.  Then, I am not sure what I will pick up to read next.  

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/21

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week:

This is the 9th book in the Pretty Little Liars series.  A quick and fun read.  It is now getting quite interesting to see how the author will twist the story to extend it.  Most of the twists and turns are quite unbelievable, but it is fun to read nonetheless.

Since I am already a big fan of murder mysteries, this book appealed to me.  The book alternates viewpoints between the daughter of the man accused of murder and the boyfriend of the murder victim.  Emily, the daughter, knows in her heart that her father did not kill the girl, but her father was in the midst of a flashback, a symptom of PTSD. The mystery of what happened is further twisted by the fact that the boyfriend does not remember what happened that night.  He has told police a lie and his memories might just be the key to the mystery.  This was a very intriguing mystery and well-written.  I absolutely would recommend it to grades 8 and up.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey was described in a blurb as a cross between Mary Shelley and Stephen King.  I definitely agree with that.  I really liked the fact that the writing style was similar to Frankenstein.  The story is told in journal entries by the assistant to a doctor of monstrumology as he works to rid the town of the latest infestation of monsters.  There were some quite gruesome scenes in this story and I would not recommend it for anyone who has a hard time with gore.  I will definitely read the next book in this series soon because I am now curious about what other types of monsters might arise in the world of these books.  I would recommend this one to high school students and adults.  As I said, there is some gruesome material, and I think the writing style is best appreciated by someone who has been exposed to classics.

A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park is based on a true story of a “lost boy” of Sudan.  It tells the story of Salva, a young boy who walks long distances to avoid a war in his home country.  It also tells the story of a young girl from modern times who still has to walk all day to get enough water for her family each day.  The story is woven together at the end and would be an excellent read aloud to spur students to global action.  There is information at the end of the book about the organization that Salva started to help villages to drill wells and get clean drinking water.  I highly recommend this book.

This is the last book in the Ruby Red trilogy.  It is a highly entertaining series.  I very much enjoyed the audiobooks of the second and third books.  The humor in the book was brought out by the narrator.  I found myself laughing out loud to the book while listening (which was slightly awkward at the gym).  I also found excuses to listen to the book while at home.  This is a good sign that I am really enjoying a book.  The best part about it is that I usually would avoid a time travel book, it is not my cup of tea.  However, this is a witty and fun science fiction that made me long for more.  The taste of romance and bungled, confused conversations made it that much more interesting.  I highly recommend this whole trilogy to middle school and older readers.

It took me longer to get into this book than when I read Grave Mercy, but once I was hooked, I could not put this one down.  It has all the great elements of the first book and a really intriguing story.  I will definitely be looking forward to the third book in this trilogy.  I recommend this one to grade 8 and up.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am listening to Rotters by Daniel Kraus.  I also started reading The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal.  

What’s Next?

I made the mistake of signing up for a free trial of Oyster while I still have hundreds of books that I own that I need to read.  I am determined to not continue the subscription beyond this month so I will be focusing on reading books there for a while.  I have quite the reading list going.  I also borrowed the book Perdido Street Station by China Mieville from a friend so I will get to that as soon as possible to be able to return it in a timely manner.  
What are you reading this week?  I would love to hear from you in the comments! Have a great reading week!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/14

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week:

I mostly listened to Where Things Come Back, but it was the first book I had the Kindle and the Audible book for.  It was really cool how the two versions synced.  At the end of the book, I switched to the Kindle edition, because I wanted to read the rest at a time that wouldn’t have been a good time for listening.  I highly recommend this book to teens and adults. There are some deep themes in this one.  I like the way the author used humor to lighten up what could have been a very dark and depressing story.  
I highly recommend I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zusak as well.  It was a little slow going for me at the beginning, but then it picked up and I was intrigued by the mystery of what had to be done and who was behind everything.  There is a good message about the life we choose to lead and complacency.  
My sister gave me a copy of The Freedom Writers Diary for Christmas.  I have owned a copy of this book before and been meaning to get to it, so when my sister gave it to me again, I figured it was now the time to read it.  I enjoyed reading the book and thinking about what this teacher did for these students.  I found myself being a little cynical once I realized that the teacher only worked in the classroom for these four years.  I think this group of kids have done amazing things and the teacher has made a lot of difference by putting together workshops and teaching education classes at universities.  However, the work that she did and the sacrifices she made in order to reach those kids obviously were not sustainable or she would have continued her work at the high school.  I love reading about these kinds of things, but I realize that this level of success is hard to get without that level of sacrifice.  There are a lot of teachers out there that do similar things for students on a smaller scale every day.  I would recommend this book to teachers as inspiration to think about tolerance education.  I definitely am going to look for some of the resources that Erin Grunwell used.  

Books I am Currently Reading:

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey is quite interesting so far.  I am also listening to Emerald Green.

What’s Next?

I am on Spring Break (FINALLY) and will find ample time for reading this week.  I am not sure what I will choose to pull from the shelf, but I am sure I will enjoy reading.  
What are you reading this week?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!  Have a great reading week!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/7

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

This week was a good reading week!  I read a lot of quick and easy books and feel so accomplished after this weekend of reading.  

Books I Finished This Week:

I enjoyed reading this book from NetGalley.  I will probably write a review of this one closer to its release date.  It was fun to read this fast-paced mystery.  
Since I enjoyed The Body in the Woods, I decided to pull Girl, Stolen by April Henry off the shelf.  I enjoyed this quick read about a blind girl who is accidentally kidnapped while a man is trying to steal the car she is in.  I know that my 8th grade students will really like this story.  
Defy by Sara Larson is a fantasy adventure story.  I was swept up in the story from the very beginning.  The protagonist is a strong female who works to change things in her kingdom.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy.  
A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff is a fun story about finding family and finding your talent.  I read this one in one sitting.  I definitely recommend this one.  
I decided to pick up the next book in the Pretty Little Liars series to read quickly over the weekend.  I enjoy these books in a kind of guilty pleasure way.  They are certainly not great literature, but it is fun to read about the twists and turns that this mystery takes.  

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am listening to Where Things Come Back.  I also started reading I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zuzak.  So far, I am enjoying both of these books.  

What’s Next?

I will be picking up the next Pretty Little Liars book this week.  I also will read The Monstrumologist.


What did you read this week?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!