#IMWAYR November 17, 2014

Hurrah! It's time for #IMWAYR, where bloggers share the books they have been reading in the past week. If you follow these links, Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers, you can find many great reads.

I have been at home this week trying to get rid of some kind of bug I've been battling since the middle of September. Time off from work when I am actually able to read, is a gift. I am hyperactive by nature, and just resting doing nothing is not something I am capable of.

So I've finished a number of titles and am nearly done a couple more.

First off I finished reading Because of Mr Terupt by Rob Buyea. I've got nothing but #booklove for it. I can't wait to get my hands on the next novel in the series. 

I have loved every one of James Howe's Misfit  companion books. In each book he's tackled issues connected to name calling. Almost Elvis, might be my favourite, but then, it's also the most recent I've read. I love all these characters, but Skeezie never really came through in the previous novels. What I especially love about this one, aside from the fact that it is a great read, is that Howe has highlighted the effects of poverty on families and children.

After reading reviews about Leroy Ninkers Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo over the past few weeks, I discovered I could download it as an eBook from our local library. So I did. I'm so thankful to all of you who book talked it on your blogs. I finished it once, and then went back and reread it. I can't wait to read it to a group of kids. 

I've also completed Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner by Tim Tingle. I'm in the middle of writing a post on that, but not finished it. It's pretty brutal, but then, the history of Indigenous peoples here in North America (and on other continents) is horrific to begin with. 


I listened to Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephen Pastis. This is not a book to read with your ears. Atter checking out Amazon's preview version I realized that the illustrations are a critical piece in the reading experience. I tried really hard to like it. I wanted to like it. But I kept comparing it to the Calvin and Hobbes books, and it didn't fare well in comparison. On top of this, I'm just not a fan of books with dumb, self absorbed boys as the main character. 

I made an attempt to read Doll Bones by Holly Black, but couldn't get into it. I even tried listening to it, but it just wouldn't click for me. Some readers I trust have recommended it to me, so I will try again later in hopes that the time will come for it. 

I'm nearing the end of On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers. I'm not sure if it is because my expectations were low from reading so many bad reviews of it, but I'm actually enjoying it. For certain, it doesn't have the punch that his usual writing has. It feels like the beginning of a series, which alas, there will be no more of. While the diversity of the group of characters feels a bit forced, I like the relationship between Dahlia and Anja and I'm thankful that I didn't have to deal more with the conflict between her and Mei-Mei. I appreciate that the future Myers presents to us, feels all too plausible to me. I can't help but wonder how Myers would have developed these characters if he hadn't died so soon. 

I'm also almost finished listening to Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. WOW! I am so enchanted by this title, that even before finishing it, I put the sequel, The Whispering Skull, on reserve at the VPL. 

    

Up Next I'm looking at Marie Lu's The Young Elites. I read the entire Prodigy series last summer, so I'm hoping this will be as good. I also have to get to The Art of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein for my adult book club meeting which is coming up the following week. Who knows, I may even give Doll Bones another go.