Welcome! 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.
Aside from attending important meetings connected to the quilt guid I am part of, I worked four days this week in high school. Well it was two half days and two full days, but it was still four days. I am not a high school teacher.
I am back to my maximum two days subbing from here on in!
On a positive note, I did read and respond to almost everyone's posts last week. I also got two book reviews posted.
Aside from planning to read 200 books, (50 down from last year) I still haven't gotten my reading challenges sorted out. I will do my best to have it under control by next 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
A Green Velvet Secret by Vicki Grant
PICTURE BOOKS
The Song that Called them Home by David Alexander Robertson & Maya McKibbin (Illustrator) April 4th 2023 🍁
Two children go on a trip to the land with their moshom (grandfather). While Moshom naps, the children, Lauren and James, take the canoe out onto the lake to go fishing. They end up in the land of the Memekwesewak, dancing around a huge fire and lose sense of time and purpose. It is the sound of their moshom's drum that calls them home.
Click on the link here to read my full review.
NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS
The Universe in You by Jason Chin December 13th 2022
This book is where cell biology, chemistry, and physics come together and become one science. It's mind boggling in it's complexity and beauty. High school and university teachers working in any of these areas should have a copy in their classrooms.
NON FICTION GRAPHIC
My 20 month old granddaughter is crazy about dinosaurs, so I decided I better reacquaint myself with what we know about them now. It's been close to 35 years since her father was a fanatic and the world has changed a lot since then. I continue to be impressed with this series. While this one doesn't have the humour of Crows: Genius Birds, it sure is thorough.
It takes us across the history of palaeontology showing readers how the science has transformed as new knowledge has become available. We learn about the egos of some men, the mistakes that were made, the misinformation that was spread. In the introduction, Leonard Finkelman, Assistant professor in Philosophy of Science at Linfield College, talks about how our restrained imaginations limit what we can learn. Our understanding of what dinosaurs might have looked like is very different these days. Alas this book is beyond my granddaughter's cognitive ability, but when she next visits, I might have to invest in the series, Prehistoric Planet. If her dad is here, I'm sure he will appreciate it too.
Did you ever imagine a dinosaur could look like this?
MG NOVELS
The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune July 14th 2020
Part of the reason I didn't get much reading done is that I have been listening to this. I adored the two other TJ Klune books I read. This one isn't working for me so I keep avoiding it. To be honest, I'm not much of a superhero fan to begin with. So there's that.
Once I predicted what was going on between Seth and Nick, two queer best friends, it made waiting for Nick to figure out what was happening cringeworthy. It becomes obvious to the reader that Seth and another friend, Owen, are extraordinaries (super heroes) - although figuring out which one was hero and which was the villain was still up for grabs for me when I abandoned this. Nick seems to be over the top clueless and so scattered that I couldn't connect to him. Because he's neurodiverse I kept reading to try and figure him out. It must be exhausting being in his head. In the end, he's a character I felt sorry for, but didn't really like. His relationship with his father, even though it had it's loving moments, made me uncomfortable. His father disturbed me. Honestly, I wanted to smack him across the head.
What I did like about this book is how, like David Levithan's novels, being queer is ordinary. I loved that Nick is accepted by his friends just for being who he is, ADHD and all. I adored his two lesbian friends, Jazz and Gibby. The book also has some screamingly hilarious bits.
After I gave up on this book I went and read a bunch of reviews. I wish I had picked up more on some of the nuances that triggered Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour readers. I really appreciated TJ Klune's response to these criticisms. It is an example of how we all should react when we make mistakes. From one review of the second in the series, it seems like these issues have been addressed there.
CURRENTLY
Amari and the Great Game (Supernatural Investigations #2) by B.B. Alston
Blackmail and Bibinka by Mia P Manansala
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao
UP NEXT
I've got a pile of Graphic Novels to read for Cybils so I'll be working on those.
The Big Sting by Rachelle Delaney
READING GOALS
#MustReadFiction
#MustReadNonFiction
Canadian Authors 1
Indigenous Authors 1
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 4/200
I didn't know you subbed! I understand about the exhaustion & for the first week back after vacation! Each book you shared is new to me, & all sound like I should put them on my list. There are so many good ones to read, I find it a big challenge, but will carry on! Hope the week finds you rested up, Cheriee! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt is a big challenge to read all those books we want to read. I'm going to have to live for another 200 years just to read the ones on my list already!
DeleteI'm sure you do an excellent job subbing! I've had to cover a lot of classes this year, and even an extra period of the day, along with the prep for it, can be tiring! You're wise to stick to two days, and I thank you on behalf of the teachers everywhere! I have decided I can't be out at all. Nothing good would happen. Good luck on your Cybils reading!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Being away is always a crap shoot. Sometimes the best you can expect is that nothing bad happens. Even when you have a 'good' sub in the library, there is still a heck of a lot to come back to because the stuff you need done is for a specific set of knowledge.
DeleteBeautiful illustrations on The Song That Called Them Home. I hope you enjoy your books this week!
ReplyDeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading
The Universe in You is in the stack I picked up from the library last week, but I haven't yet cracked it open. You have me curious. Jason Chin is an amazing illustrator so I imagine the artwork is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great treat ahead of you Lisa! Younger readers will still appreciate it, but Some parts are really complex- that's why I recommend it for high school!
DeleteTeenagers are exhausting!
ReplyDeleteGood luck selecting your reading challenges for 2023 - you might like to consider the Nonfiction Reader Challenge ;)
Wishing you a great reading week
I was hoping to like The Extraordinaries more since I enjoyed two others of Klune's books.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad it isn't just me. I expected to love it and am sad that I didn't.
Delete4 boos a week, that's a solid goal! Wow. I'm going for one a week. Happy reading. Here's my first review of the year: http://www.lyndonperrywriter.com/2023/01/first-review-of-year-mystery.html
ReplyDeleteWell, most of those picture books or graphic, so it's not as impressive as it sounds.
DeleteAh! And I meant books, not boos! haha
DeleteOur son (now 52) was big on dinosaurs, and I can't imagine how our knowledge about them has changed since the 1970s. Hope you are able to get back to your normal rhythm!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. There is an interesting story of a dinosaur (can't remember the name) that people thought existed, then new evidence was uncovered and that it was considered to be a mistake. Later on, as more evidence was uncovered, they realized that it wasn't a mistake and that dinosaur did indeed exist.
DeleteCongrats on your reading challenge of 200 books. Mine is at 100!
ReplyDeleteWell, I do read a lot of picture books!
DeleteI totally understand the exhaustion. I too had a rough transition back to school after winter break. I glanced through the Chin book a week or two ago and agree that it is quite a good one. I have also been a little slow to get my reading challenge choices settled, but I am just going to go with the flow a little more this year so I may just stick with the Goodreads number. Still not sure. ;)
ReplyDelete