Welcome readers! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. 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. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.
Just a reminder that if you are participating in the #MustRead challenge, Leigh Anne Eck at A Day In the Life is hosting the last update for 2021 here. When you are ready, post your #MustReadIn2022 goals here. The links are open until the end of January.
Our kitchen flooring was installed this week. I am quite smitten with this green marmoleum. It looks truly gorgeous when the sun shines on it.
We took our Christmas tree down on Saturday and the house seems bereft without it and the rest of the decorations. (Although, I am not unhappy about not having to constantly clean up spruce needles.) We are keeping the outside lights on for a while longer.
In spite of deconstructing Christmas, catching up on housework that I've let slide, and working on my second Olivia Dunrea quilt, it's been a relaxing week.
Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.
BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK
In beautifully soft images readers are invited to look at sadness from a new perspective. Rather than trying to avoid it, or hide it, we are invited to get to know it. Ask it's name, ask where it comes from and what it needs, spend some time with it, do things together.
Every school library should have this book. People of all ages should read it.
After I reviewed this book last fall, one of my book club members suggested we do a book club to talk about it. I reread it twice last week and am still as in love and confounded by it as I was then. If anything, I have more questions. I am very excited that Sara O'Leary is joining us. Here is my original review.
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| 4 stars |
Merry Christmas, Anne by Kallie Georg & Geneviève Godbout (Illustrations) October 05, 2021 🍁
I'm pretty sure it was Aaron Cleavely @Wriggling Bookworms who introduced me to this book. Among the many different (and wonderful) books Kallie George writes, are adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables stories. She captures the essence of the original novels in picture and chapter book format. This is a lovely look at how Christmas was celebrated in the past (even before I was born.) Geneviève Godbout's illustrations, rendered in pastels and coloured pencils, are gorgeous.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
These days I'm mostly reading graphic novels for the Cybils awards. I will do a post to share my thoughts on all of them after we pick a winner. From the ones I've finished, that's promising to be a daunting task.
Here's what I read last week. If I previously reviewed the book, I've provided a link to it.
My original review is here.
MEMOIR
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| 5 stars |
Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day by Kathlyn J. Kirkwood & Steffi Walthall (Illustrator) January 4, 2022
This memoir in verse is the perfect read as we near Martin Luther King's birthday, January 15th. It tells the story of how MLK day was made into law. One of the things I like most about it is how it inspires us all to become foot soldiers for change.
If I was still working in the library I might order two copies.
You can read my full review here.
CURRENTLY
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth
I'm working my way through this slowly because it's a lot to take in. My copy has to be returned to the library soon so I've put another hold on it.
Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier & Val Wise (Illustrations) (a Cybils title)
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
I listen to this as I'm falling asleep since it's a reread for me and I'm not tempted to stay awake to find out what happens.
The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
I'm almost done this audiobook.
The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (The Cybils graphic novels have forced me to put this book aside for now)
UP NEXT
Since I'm a round 2 Cybils judge, I am busy reading and rereading the finalists in the graphic novel categories. Hopefully I will find time for other books.
READING GOALS
#MustReadFiction /24 one in progress
#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress
Canadian Authors 2/100
Indigenous Authors 0/25 one in progress
Love reading about all these, Cheriee, and that you're a judge, too. There are several of us reading, reading! I definitely want to read Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round and I am happy my library often has your Canadian books, like Gemma and the Giant Girl! Glad you now have your new floor. It's beautiful! Thanks for sharing so many today! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI hope you read Gemma and the Giant Girl and anticipate your thoughts on it. Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round is a wonderful memoir in verse that I am sure you will love.
DeleteCongrats on getting your new flooring installed—it looks lovely! And it's always sad to take the Christmas decorations down, but at least that's a big chore you all got done! (We just did that ourselves yesterday.) You make Gemma and the Giant Girl sound so compelling—for the Cybils, I finally borrowed physical books from my library for the first time (I used to just always use Libby or Hoopla), and my library apparently has a physical copy of that one, so hopefully I'll check that out at some point! And the books for the Cybils all look excellent—I'm excited to hear your thoughts on them all once the winners are announced! Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round looks really compelling as well. Thanks so much for the wonderful post, Cheriee!
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to take the decorations down. This year I didn't get the Christmas village that my mother gave me set up. I usually leave it til the end of January, it seems even more empty this year.
DeleteI will be looking forward to reading what you think of Gemma.
I have a copy of The Legend of Auntie Po and I definitely want to get to it soon. I went back to read your review of Living with Viola. I got it from the library last week and tried to read it this weekend. I ended up abandoning it because it seemed overwhelming to me. Maybe I should try again.
ReplyDeleteIt is overwhelming. I think, because it's so well done, if you have any kind of empathy, it triggers all kinds of anxiety in the reader. I had to take breaks from it for sure. I think that the graphic novel format can make these kinds of books more powerful. I had to reread My Body in Pieces for the Cybils and it was as emotionally exhausting the second time round as it was the first.
DeleteAin't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round sounds amazing. I definitely need to put that on my TBR pile!
ReplyDeleteYes you do! It is an optimistic book even if it does show how long it can take to make change!
DeleteOooh, I just put the MLK book on hold. I may need to purchase that one.
ReplyDeleteOh, home renovations. So nice when they are done, but doesn't it feel like they never actually get done? There's always some part that has to be fixed/touched up!
The MLK book is wonderful.
DeleteI kind of feel like that now about renovations. I see where bits of paint have been chipped and scratches have appeared in the drywall. Aside from all that, we still have a lot of finishing to do and still haven't finished all the wood flooring.
I'm so happy you found When Sadness Comes - this is one of my favorite social emotional books. The coloring of sadness itself is hopeful and helpful - not dark and scary.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed. It is a joyful book about sadness - which is kind of contradictory.
DeleteHey Cheriee! Funny thing, I have never read Merry Christmas, Anne. I have read the other Anne books that come in the series and blog about them well before they come out and that is likely the connection, but somehow I missed this one. I also missed Gemma and the Giant Girl. I will have to look for it at the public library.
ReplyDeleteI had a copy of Salt Magic on my NetGalley but it unexpectedly expired and I missed it. My daughter and I have read several of Hope Larson's other works and have enjoyed them. The Girl in the Sea was one that I did read, and I really enjoyed the artwork in particular. I wondered about trying to apply to judge, but I am not sure I could commit the time during the school year. You make it look like fun! Thanks for all these shares.
Well heck, I wonder who shared Merry Christmas Anne? I only do the second round judging. We have to read and evaluate between 12 to 14 books in about a month, but it's all done within 6 weeks. It wasn't a big deal when I was living in Vancouver because between the different libraries there, I was always able to access all the books. This year there are two books I could pick up if I was there, but can't access here. I actually contacted publishers and authors through twitter messaging in hopes of getting copies.
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