#IMWAYR July 24, 2017

#IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

Hello everyone, I didn't get much reading in this week. I've been busy, busy, busy doing other things. When we were in the Okanagan it was mostly about listening to audiobooks while working around the house. I finished up and dropped off a quilt at the quilters. My mother started it years ago and but didn't complete it before her death. I've been participating in Teachers Write and so writing, or thinking about writing every day, has taken time away from reading. I've posted one piece below if you want to read it.

We went through a bit of an environmental shock last week. In the space of 5 hours we went from Oliver, where it was so hot that by the time a load of clothes had been hung on the line, the first of them were already dry, to back here in Vancouver where we've been wearing sweaters and long pants.

Babies update: Isn't it amazing the things we forget about our times with our own newborns? Do you remember just how much work they are and how their crying instantly invokes anxiety in the listeners? I had forgotten how hard bodily functions are for these wee people, nevermind how fast they grow. I was away for less than a week and swear they almost doubled!

Here is what they look like now!

BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK

Miles Morales (A Spider-Man Novel) by Jason Reynolds

Teachers Write - July 20, 2017 The Waiting Room

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS 

4 stars

The Journey That Saved Curious George : The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden & Allan Drummond (Illustrator)

The graphic format of this book is really appealing. The text is interspersed with photographs, original images and Allan Drummond's modern whimsical ink and watercolour illustrations. It's written chronologically and provides a history of Europe and the world, at the same time as telling us the story of Margret and H.A. Rey. At the end of the book is additional information about their lives after they escaped.

4 stars

The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue by Suzanne Slade & Stacy Innerst (Illustrations)
I can't gush about this too much. Stacy Innerst's illustrations with all those blues just WOWED me. I'm compelled to return again and again to admire them. The typeface, text, and these illustrations are inseparable from the narrative. It all came together in this picture biography of George Gershwin to just enthral me. At the end of the book there are notes from both the author and illustrator. There is a timeline and a bibliography. I was left feeling sad that George Gershwin died so young and wondering what else he might have accomplished if he had more time.

NOVELS

4 stars

Miles Morales (A Spider-Man Novel) by Jason Reynolds

Sijo poetry plays a significant role in this book, so I'm going to give one a try here. Click on the link above to read my full review if you want to know more. 

Miles Morales is Spider Man, a black, teenage superhero
Having extraordinary powers requires much soul searching
How can he save the world if he can't even save himself?

Serafina and the Splintered Heart (Serafina #3) by Robert Beatty & Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

4 stars

When I discovered this book was available as an audiobook that I could download and listen to immediately, it was a 'be still my beating heart' moment. If you have not been introduced to this series, I am very sad for you. It's part folklore, part horror, and mostly just really good stories about the bonds of family and friendship against a backdrop of a battle between good and evil. Beatty's characters are impossible not to connect with. This story begins with Serafina waking up in a coffin. You will have to read the book to find out what happened to her, how she manages survive, defeat her longstanding enemy, and save all the people at Biltmore who she loves. Along the way she makes new friends and comes into her own. 

ADULT NON FICTION

3 stars

Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott

I started this because one of the #IMWAYR participants wrote about it, and I loved Bird by Bird. I had no idea what to expect. I'm not at all religious in a traditional sense, but appreciate Lamott's honesty and ability to examine her own life. I found the last half more inspiring than the first, but it was all good. 

CURRENTLY

I'm trying to limit how many books I have on the go at a time. On my device I started a Netgalley title, Elsie Mae Has Something to Say by Nancy J. Cavanaugh, but need to postpone it because of a pressing need to finish other titles that have to be returned to the library before we head off wilderness camping. I'm listening to Posted by John David Anderson. I've just started The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins.

UP NEXT
Figuring out what to read next depends on what has to be returned to the library first. I have to finish Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, The Rain in Portugal: Poems by Billy Collins, and Odin's Ravens by Kelley Armstrong. I'm saving Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke, Rose's Run by Dawn Dumont, and a pile of other books for when I am away.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MUSTREADIN2017 16/36

#MUSTREADNFIN2017 6/12

50 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 21/50

Chocolate Lily (CL) 51/51

Big Book Challenge 3/6

Goodreads Reading Challenge 233/333