#IMWAYR July 20, 2015

It's Monday again, my favourite day of the week. Time to check in with hosts Jen From Mentor Texts and Kellee andRickie from Unleashing Readers, to find out what bloggers around the world are reading this week.  

I missed posting last week because my life is kind of out of control occupied. My son is getting married on the labour day weekend in the Southern Okanagan Valley here in BC. Since he and his sweetheart are living and working in Korea this summer, I have been left to deal with the details of pulling it together. It's a heck of a lot of work! On top of all this we are in the middle of renovations of our house there. Since we are doing much of it ourselves, it means we have been crazy busy. I was hoping to get a star wedding ring quilt done for them, but since I've barely gotten the paper pieces cut out, I've conceded it might be done by their first anniversary. On top of all this, I took my mother on a road trip for four days so she could meet up with friends and family. If it wasn't for audiobooks, I wouldn't have gotten any reading in at all!

I did managed to scrape out time to put together a digital list of books students at our school think you should read over the summer. I blogged about The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella. I've also been working on transforming a huge paper poster illustrating our school philosophy into digital format. I'm spending hours steeped in the world of Photoshop. 

Here is what I have accomplished in my reading life in these past two weeks. 

4 stars
The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella and Simone Shin (illustrator)
I enjoyed this story that reveals the different incarnations of a red bicycle. It makes a difference in the lives of all its owners from Leo in America, who first purchased it, to Alisetta in Burkina Faso who used it to improve her family's standard of living. Then it was transformed into an ambulance and used to help many different citizens in that country. 

4 stars
The Letter Q by Sarah Moon et al
Unfortunately I had to return this book to the library when I was about 2/3 done as I was unable to renew it. I loved reading the letters from the writer's older selves to their younger ones. Like the goodreads write up says, I learned things about some of my favourite authors I never expected, and I also learned about myself. I'm left thinking how wonderful it would be to get our students to write a letter to their older selves.

I'm not generally a fan of violent books and I don't often read an entire series, but I'm just hooked on Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant collection. They are fast paced with plenty of action and fascinating characters that mature and evolve as the series progresses. 

4 stars
Dark Days (Skulduggery Pleasant 4) by Derek Landy
At the end of the last book, Skulduggery was sucked through a portal into the land of the faceless ones. In this book Valkyrie sets out to save him. It means fraternizing with vampires and zombies and delving into the magic of the necromancers. An old enemy of Skulduggery is released from prison and sets out to destroy him and the Irish Sanctuary, the ruling center for magic in Ireland. 

4 stars
Mortal Coil (Skulduggery Pleasant 5) by Derek Landy
In Dark Days, Valkyrie learned that her true name is Darquesse, a women who is foretold to bring about the end of human life on earth. The leader of the necromancers causes the release of Remnants, psychopathic spirits who possess humans. These spirits think that Valkrie, as Darquesse, will become their leader. What I liked most about these last two books is that Valkyrie is growing up and becoming more independent of Skulduggery. 

Unfortunately, our library has no more of this series available as audiobooks. 

4 stars
The Martian by Andy Weir
If someone told me how much science there was in this book, I might have doubted it could be so scintillating. But it grabbed me by the throat and kept me coming back for more. It's the story of an astronaut who gets left behind on a mission to Mars when his companions are led to believe that he died in a freak accident. He manages to survive through his ingenuity and determination. I listened to it while painting the basement of our house. It made this boring job enjoyable. Unfortunately, this is a book for older readers. I won't be getting it for our library, but I definitely encourage others to read it. 
4.5 stars

The Railway Children by E Nesbit narrated by Renee Raudman
My mother and I listened to this book on our road trip. We were both enchanted by this classic tale of a family with three children whose life changes drastically when the father mysteriously goes away. It is a charming story with delightful characters. It's a bit dated, but still wonderful. 


5 stars
Masterminds by Gordon Korman
This is the first print book I've read in ages, well in over a week anyway. I sat down with it and finished it in one setting. I loved it! I'm accustomed to Korman grabbing my attention through plot based stories. What I enjoyed about this one is the development of the different characters as well as the story line. It's the story of a group of children who live in an ideal town. They discover that who they are, and what the town is really up to, are not at all what they have been taught. I can't wait to get a copy for our library. This is the first in a new series. I might even read more of them!


Currently I'm listening to The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann. It is the first in a series that many of my readers are infatuated with. I'm not crazy about it, but it is entertaining me. I'm in the middle of Cynthia Lord's A Handful Of Stars and expect to be finished with it by tomorrow. 

Up next I've got a couple of library books: The Great Good Summer and More Happy Than Not that I need to get finished so I can return them before we head out of the city for a week long camping trip and more renovations on our house in Oliver. I've started Shadow Scale by Rachel Harman, but I'm saving it to read when I am in the magical wilderness. 

27 comments:

  1. With all of the things you had and have to do I'm surprised you got any reading done at all. Aren't audiobooks wonderful for car trips and boring jobs! Come see my reading week here. Happy reading!

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    1. Audiobooks are good for everything. I especially love them when I out for my walks as I am more likely to go longer just to have the story in my head!

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  2. Wow, Cheriee, you are very busy. Thank goodness for audio books! I read The Letter Q a long time ago. It is a wonderful book, hopefully is getting some notice for older students. I loved The Martian, too. It was very popular in my class last year. Thanks for sharing even while busy, & best wishes with all that's going on!

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    1. You must have older readers than I do Linda. I know some of my older students would enjoy it, but they are only 12/13 and the language is awful strong... I agree about The Letter Q - a powerful book!

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  3. I can't believe you managed to read/listen to so many books with all that you have going on in your life. It sounds like things are incredibly hectic for you. The Letter Q sounds like a great book that I need to find. I also need to add Masterminds to by TBR list. Have a great reading week!

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    1. Both of those are great reads for very different reasons. Hectic is just the beginning these days.

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  4. I LOVE Skulduggery Pleasant. I am having trouble getting my hands on the last book. I think I might have buy it for my self! Have a great week! ~Megan
    http://wp.me/pzUn5-2mO

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    1. I was hooked from the first book! I am thinking I might have to purchase some audiobooks, but they are too costly, so I will have to encourage my library to buy them instead. Or of course, I could just read them in print form.

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  5. A student lost the first Skullduggery book and I was so mad! Loved Masterminds and can't wait for Outlaws 2.0 in February. My students also like The Unwanteds, mainly because a fifth grade teacher heavily promoted them. They were okay, but I'm not as wild about them as they are, either!

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    1. Hi Karen. I know exactly how you feel. I end up replacing these lost books and then they get 'found' again. My readers love Ungifted and now I'm going to have to find a copy of it.

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  6. I need to read Masterminds. I love Gordon Korman, though "my" Gordon Korman consists of his books from the 80s/90s. I am planning to listen to The Martian on audio this fall once the semester starts--well, if I can stop listening to podcasts long enough to get to an audiobook! I'm dying to read Shadow Scale but decided I had to reread Seraphina first, and I haven't gotten to it. Argh! So many books, so much time spent doing things other than reading.... Bah!

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    1. The Martian is very good! Seraphina is just so beautifully written, I think you will enjoy it. I'm not a big fan of Korman, but I think that has changed.

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  7. Isn't it funny how we tend to be busier during the summer than the school year? Glad you enjoyed Masterminds - it was a favorite this year!
    The Unwanteds is a series I would like to get to at some point, just haven't had the time. Same with A Handful of Stars. I enjoyed The Great Good Summer, definitely had a flair of Because of Winn Dixie.

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    1. I have to wonder how I have time to work! I loved Because of Winn Dixie, so I'm sure I will love The Great Good Summer.

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  8. That's an impressive amount of reading with all you have going on. I love audiobooks to keep me company on those boring jobs around the house, but I don't do so well with them while driving. I get too caught up in the book and become a danger on the road.

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    1. I don't think they distract me when I am driving, at least no one has complained so far. Yes, they are so welcome when doing housework and other chores and especially when I am working on a quilt!

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  9. Congratulations on your son's marriage and on your renovations, but sounds like you are so busy!! Good luck with everything!
    Love Red Bicycle, but haven't read the others. I very much want to read Mastermind! I love Korman.
    I'm assuming that since you are on #4, Skulldugery is a good series?

    Happy reading (and everything else!) this week! :)

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    1. YES to Skulduggery - I really didn't expect to get so hooked on it but I sure am.

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  10. Marriages oh my! I plan to take A Handful of Stars with us next time we are away. I hope you enjoy The Great Good Summer. Bea loved it too!

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    1. As soon as I am finished responding to all these blogs, I'm heading for that book. I loved A Handful of Stars, but then, I've loved everything Cynthia Lord has written. I can't bear to imagine live without Bea next year:(

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  11. Can't wait for the sequel to Masterminds. I need to read The Martian. I've only heard good things about it.

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    1. What is the name of the sequel? When is it coming out? Yes! Read The Martian, it's just fabulous.

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  12. I am strangely intrigued by The Martian. I know a lot of people love it, but my husband said I wouldn't. I bet I would, and I just might challenge him!

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    1. It is fascinating. Unless you don't like books with lots of science and math - but I loved all of it. I'm recommending it to my husband because I think he will enjoy it, and he finds math overwhelming.

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  13. Wow! I'm shocked at how much you've gotten accomplished with everything else you've got going on! I enjoyed Gordon Korman's Hypnotist book, and Masterminds looks similar. I definitely want to check that one out. A Handful of Stars is coming up for me soon. I think I'm going to look into The Red Bicycle.... Sounds powerful!

    Thanks for sharing your titles, Cheriee! Good luck with all you have going on. I hope you take some moments to BREATHE! :)

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    1. Thanks Virgina - this is two weeks reading though, so... A Handful of Stars is a sweet and delightful book about friendship and loss. So lovely. The Red Bicycle is a book full of possibility - definitely worth the read.

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  14. I realized that I am not a very plot-driven reader - but Gordon Korman is one such exception I think - I love his installments for the 39 clues series, which I thought was pretty well thought out. I really love seeing the Skulduggery Pleasant books in your site, I think I've mentioned I own a few titles but I am waiting that I get everything before I binge-read the entire series. :)

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