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.
My life is very busy these days. Picking raspberries and trying to keep the weeds under control in the garden takes at least two to three hours a day. In spite of this, I've managed to get some creative projects completed!
Thank goodness for audiobooks!
Here are two baby quilts my sister and I finished for the most recent babies in the extended family.
I started this little bird in a workshop at the end of June and finished it the next day. I was inspired by the humble little house sparrows who live outside my kitchen window.
I made this rug for my brother who shares a birthday with me.
These days I am in the middle of taking apart the recliner that we inherited from my husband's parents. I'm hoping planning to reupholster it.
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.
MOST RECENT BLOG POST
This is a true story of young girls at residential school. While the horrors of the school are there, this focuses more on how their lives at home and what they learned there, afforded them with resilience and skills that enabled them to survive the school. In this case, the girls used the sewing skills they learned at home to sew secret pockets into their uniforms. With them they were able to pilfer food from the kitchen to feed themselves and younger children.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
Matt Tavares' "graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports." It's based on a true story of a girls basketball team in Indiana. He tells the story of the Wilkins Regional High School girls’ basketball team. In 1975, the rookie team, without any support from the school, ended up winning the first state championship. Thanks to Linda Bai for introducing me to this wonderful book. While girl/women's leagues have come a long way, they still don't have the same stature as boys/men sports - even when they play better games.
MIDDLE GRADE FICTION
I thought this would be more of a tear jerker than it ended up being, but it still isn't easy to read. It is the story of Reha, a young girl who's mother ends up with Leukemia. It's also much more than this. It's the story of a daughter of Southeast Asian immigrants trying to make her own way while she straddles being American on the one hand, and maintaining her cultural roots on the other. It's a tale many immigrant children will relate to.
ADULT/YA FICTION
I wanted to love this more than I did. I listened to it while I was out working in the garden or taking my recliner apart. It's full of excitement and danger. Sometimes I was totally engaged in Sunny and her friends magical adventures, but other times I couldn't stay focused.
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| 5 stars |
The Theory of Crows by David A. Robertson (Author and narrator) & Megan Tooley (Narrator) September 13, 2022 🍁
Essentially, this is the story of a father and teenage daughter finding connection and healing while on the land. When the father/grandfather dies, the two of them travel to the bush to find his old trapline and what remains of the house he grew up in. It's a journey fraught with danger and near disaster.
I don't have anxiety issues, but it's obvious that Robertson is intimately acquainted with them.
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| 5 stars |
Provenance (Imperial Radch #4) by Ann Leckie & Adjoa Andoh (Narrator) September 26, 2017
I was so excited to find another book in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series! It turned out to be a book set in that world, rather than a continuation of the stories of the characters in the the first three books. I didn't really care. I was just happy to be there. Ingrid/Ingray, is a fascinating protagonist full of contradictions. In a difficult situation, it's a toss up whether she will cry, or act decisively. She is liable to do both. She and her brother are adopted. Both of them are in competition for their mother's affection and inheritance. Ingrid comes up with an audacious plan to free a thief from a prison planet. Not only does it all go wrong from the start, she finds herself mixed up in messy political intrigue and machinations.
ADULT NON FICTION
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| 5 stars |
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong (Author & Narrator) June 21, 2022
I don't say this very often about a nonfiction title, but I didn't want this book to end. Not only is it fascinating, Yong's writing is a pleasure to read (or in this case, listen to.)
I have been thinking about living in a democracy of all living things but not really understanding what this might mean. Ed Yong, by helping us understand the concept of umwelt, and what this means for different species, has enabled me to broaden my understanding of what it entails. At the end of the book he shows us how our activities can harm and or destroy different kinds of animals because we are so unaware of what their worlds are like.
Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
UP NEXT
Patient Zero by Lydia Kang
READING GOALS
#MustReadFiction 12/24 one in progress
#MustReadNonFiction 9/20 one in progress
Canadian Authors 25/75
Indigenous Authors 11/20
Big Books Summer 2023 - 5 one in progress
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 99/200
What an intriguing assortment of books! You make me want to dig back into Middle Grade and YA books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteIt's hilarious when you remember and lived through what is now called historical fiction!
DeleteI have several audiobooks but don't know why I'm so reluctant to listen to them. In bed, they put me to sleep very soon. Awake, they prevent me from doing lots of stuff around the house. Got to be a way to listen and work too. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteThe key is for it to be mindless work - weeding the garden or cleaning the house are perfect opportunities!
DeleteThe bird you made is adorable! I have to get my hands on Hoops. Gut sounds very interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteHoops is a wonderful book. I think it is an eye opener not only about how far women's sport has come, but how far we still have to go.
DeleteThe crafts you've been creating are so beautiful, Cheriee! I adore the quilts, and the rug, and the bird—so, well, all of them! It sounds like you've been keeping busy, between those, the gardening, and your grandkids visiting.
ReplyDeleteAs for books, Hoops and The Secret Pocket instantly went on my TBR list—Hoops because it's a graphic novel and also sounds excellent, and The Secret Pocket because it sounds like a story that needed to be told.
It sounds like you've fit in all kinds of great reading as well—I love your description of the meaning you got out of An Immense World, and considering how many people I know (myself included) whose digestive systems are meh, I'd probably learn a lot in Gut too!
Thanks so much for the thoughtful post, and have a wonderful week!
Thanks Max. What I really liked about Secret Pocket is that is shows what rich and knowledgeable lives those children had before they were taken from their children.
DeleteI loved Hoops, for similar reasons to yours, my high school/junior high experiences. And Red White, & Whole was very well done, a look into a world I don't know. My library has The Secret Pocket on order, so I'll have it soon! I noted the ones at the end, too, Cheriee. And, love seeing your projects, so beautiful! I collect birds so especially love your little carving. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteRed White and Whole is an important book for many children (and adults) because of what it has to say about being part of a diaspora and trying to fit into two cultures.
DeleteWow! The quilts and bird are beautiful! Hoops is another book that keeps popping up on my radar. I like that it takes place in the 1970s. Looks like a great story for kids to read to learn about sports history.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura. Hoops is a great piece of historical fiction that has a lot to teach us about sports today.
DeleteWow, all of your projects are gorgeous. I wish I was that creative, these are so beautiful. Have a great week 🌞📚💜
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jody!
DeleteGut looks interesting. I'm always saying I'll read more about the body especially the digestive system so I can treat myself better but maybe I just need to lay off the pizza and pastries.
ReplyDeleteI could never completely give up the pizza and pastries, but I do try to eat really healthy the most of the time.
DeleteExcellent assortment of books, Cheriee! I remember reading about David Robertson's experiences with anxiety, particularly relating to his Strangers trilogy, and you are right about his experience. I read the first of the Ancillary series and was thinking about picking up the second this summer (shorter books have been so much better lately for me though). The Secret Pocket was new to me and I am going to check it out. We are fighting a losing battle with weeds up here too. The weather has been favourable for their growth, and for the mosquitoes that thrive amongst them. Thanks for the very interesting reviews.
ReplyDeleteIt's so delightful to hear from you Aaron!
DeleteDavid Roberston shows anxiety well. So does Wesley King (who you introduced me to.) Living With Viola by Rosanna Fung is another who really gets it.
I understand about shorter books. What I like about a series is that usually I am already invested in the world and characters so it's like visiting with old friends.
Lucky for us, so far this year we don't have mosquitos. That said, after all this rain, who knows...