#IMWAYR July 31, 2023

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.


I decided to write a blog post this week because I won't be doing it next Monday.
We are trying to get everything under control for a huge family reunion here this coming weekend. We have been so busy with the house and garden, that I haven't made any progress with the books I'm reading with my eyes. I'm most likely going to be returning them to the library unfinished. 

In the middle of this, my husband decided we needed to have a dinner party. So we had six friends over and he cooked up a Thai food feast. Thankfully, everyone else contributed to it. A fabulous time was had by everyone.

While we were enjoying ourselves, a forest fire in Washington State jumped the border. Parts of Osoyoos, the town twenty kilometres south of us, was evacuated and/or put on evacuation alert. On Sunday as I write this, ash drifts past our windows and the sky is tinged in hints of grey and orange. 

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.

CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS


A civilization rises and falls along the banks of a river while a tree grows beside it.
Becker brilliantly shows the environmental devastation that accompanies human progress.
In the first few pages I thought to myself, "Look at this winding river - what dunces these people are for building here - for sure this river will flood sometime in the year." It took much longer than I expected for this to happen.
This disturbing, dystopian picture book has much to show us about our selves. Will we ever learn?

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

This is a gorgeous book. I can't wait to read it with my two oldest grandkids. Not only are the illustrations sublime, the section headings almost read together like poetry. I learned a lot from reading this book, and so will they. 
Did you know that the largest bivalve is 1.2 meters (4 feet) across and can weigh 180 kilos (400 pounds)? 

ADULT/YA FICTION


This is the most recent in a series that stars Lane Winslow, a former WW2 secret agent who, after the war, moved to the East Kootenay area in British Columbia. She eventually married the Nelson police chief, Inspector Darling. In this novel Lane's sister is in trouble so she heads off to her grandparents in Scotland to see what she can do to help. 
Back in Nelson the case of the missing husband gets stranger and stranger. Meanwhile, Darling ends up being sent to London to deal with the uncovered body that has ties to Nelson. Working together, Lane and Darling put together the pieces of the puzzle and rescue the sister. 
The worst thing about finishing this book is having to wait a year for the next in this cosy mystery series. 


Right from the get go, Jemisin gobsmacked me with her world building. I shouldn't have been so wowed, because in large part, it's what sucked me in and kept me reading her Broken Earth Trilogy.
So there is fabulous world building - but it also seems like a love letter to the city of New York. The premise it that once a city gets to a certain age and size, it evolves into a living being. Most of the time one human avatar represents it, but in New York's case, the city has a main avatar, and each borough has it's own representative. I loved each and everyone of these characters. Not only does Jemisin do magnificent world building, she creates realistic characters you can't help but either love, or at the very least, empathize with. 
Upon the birth of New York, the city is attacked by strange forces from a different realm. While under attack from this terrifying opponent, the borough avatars have to find each other, unite, and find the missing and damaged city avatar before the enemy does.

Holy Carumba, Steinbeck could write!
I fell in love with his writing all over again while reading this. Gary Sinise's narration might have had something to do with it.
I thought this would be fiction since that is what I associate Steinbeck with. Instead, it's a semi fictionalized travelogue. The author set out on a 10,000 mile expedition across the USA with his dog Charlie. He muses on the countryside, the people he sees, and the state of country. The last section written about New Orleans was horrific. I know my audiobook will expire soon, but no sooner did I finish this, than I started listening all over again.
 
CURRENTLY

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson 
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

UP NEXT 

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 15/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 11/20 1 in progress

Canadian Authors 27/75 

Indigenous Authors 11/20 

Big Books Summer 2023 - 11 - 3 in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 112/200 


 

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#IMWAYR July 24, 2023

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.

As I write this on Sunday morning, I realize that only one week ago I was hyped on coffee and boogieing to gospel music at the Vancouver Island Music festival in Courtenay BC. It was three days of heat, sunshine, multiple genres of music from around the world, late nights, and maybe, a bit too much wine. We had a fabulous time listening to familiar artists and becoming fans of previously unknown (to us) ones. 

We were away for a week so by the time I got home, I had to work to get the garden back under control. It's a losing battle, since it's been just to hot to spend much time out there. On a positive note, we have been eating corn, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, cucumbers, peppers, basil and other produce from it.  We have company coming this week, so now I have to focus on getting the house in shape!

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.

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad & David Hohn (Illustrator) August 13, 2019

I have no idea how many Beverly Cleary books I have read to children, but it has been a lot! I remember her work being devoured by readers ever since I started teaching. Recently my son told me that he has been reading the Henry Huggens series to his six year old son. Both of them love them. 
It was an absolute joy to read this book and find out more about the author and how she came to write so many books that have filled the hearts and minds of youngsters. 

5 stars

The Wisdom of Trees: How Trees Work Together to Form a Natural Kingdom by Lita Judge March 2, 2021

Here in British Columbia where I live, our government dithers while the last remaining old growth forests are decimated. Last year, across the globe, more than 15,300,000,000 trees were cut down. That's the equivalent of two per person on the planet. It equals 3000 rolls of toilet paper.

This book is chock full of information. You might even use the word 'stuffed' with data. At the same time, it's a gorgeous picture book. Each themed two page spread includes stunning artwork, with a poem on the right side. On the left is a side bar with details expanding on the theme. If this isn't enough, following the author's note, the back matter is full of additional material pertaining to the specific trees in each illustration. I appreciate that it has advice for how to help forests. The book concludes with a glossary and sources section.
I would be tempted to purchase two copies of this if I was still working in my school library. Not only is it fine just as it is for younger intermediate learners, it is also a brilliant starting point for more mature students ready to research the themes in more depth.


I had heard of Rosetta Tharpe, but really knew little about her. This NF picture book is a delightful introduction to her life and music. It captures the spirit of the little girl who became the Queen of Rock and Roll.
Upon finishing it, I went off and spent an hour or so listening to her music.


I don't much care for gothic tales so I am not a Brontë fan. I picked this up only because I AM a huge Isabel Greenberg fan!
This strange tale is a combination of truth and fiction. Against a backdrop of actual events in the Brontë family, Greenberg has used the information from her research to create a magical story that takes us inside the imaginary worlds created by the siblings. I ended up being fascinated, captivated, and sometimes, disturbed. 

ADULT/YA FICTION

If you like character driven books that give you insight into other people's worlds and experiences, this book is perfect for you.
It is the story of Baxter, a queer Black sleeping car porter. He is saving up to go to school and become a dentist. He only needs another hundred dollars, but he already has fifty demerits. If he gets ten more he will be fired. On a trip across Canada, we see what his life is like while he performs his duties and deals with all kinds of people. A challenging journey becomes even more so when the train is stranded due to a landslide across the tracks. I really appreciated how the community of porters came to his defence when it looked like he was going to get fired.
Baxter's exhaustion, hunger and fear are brilliantly portrayed by Suzette Mayr.


This was a hard audiobook to finish.
It’s a collection of short stories. Mostly they are full of tenderness, love, and brutality.
I abandoned the last story as soon as I understood what was coming. I tried a couple of times to finish it, but in the end, I downloaded a print version and merely skimmed over the last pages. I can’t imagine attending a lynching, never mind bringing a child to one, but this kind of party spectacle was once all too commonplace in the American South.
If you haven’t read any James Baldwin, I encourage you to pick up his work and read it. Maybe you don’t want to start with this one, but his writing is brilliant.

I am now a hard core Jesse Q. Sutanto fan. I absolutely adored this book! It's hilarious, but it's also loaded with all kinds of important truths.
One morning, Vera Wong, the 60 year old Chinese owner of Vera Wang's World Famous Teashop, comes downstairs to open her shop. She finds a dead body on the floor. Before the police arrive, she pilfers a flash drive from the murder victim's hand.
Vera has opinions. She is sure she can do a better job of finding the murderer than the police can. In the process of accumulating a group of young suspects, she builds a found family and her life becomes much richer.
When the murderer is finally revealed, it's not unexpected, but it is a bit of a surprise.
If you are looking for the perfect summer read, look no farther.

This is a fascinating, in depth, look at diseases across time. Kang and Pedersen examine the world's worst diseases looking at their origin, how they evolved, and the ramifications politically, socially, and historically. They discuss different treatments, including the really wacky ones as well as the development of antibiotics and vaccines.
It's a delightfully accessible read. 

CURRENTLY

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson 

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck January 1, 1961

To Track a Traitor by Iona Whishaw May 2, 2023

UP NEXT 

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 14/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 11/20 

Canadian Authors 26/75 

Indigenous Authors 11/20 

Big Books Summer 2023 - 7 - 3 in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 107/200 


 

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#IMWAYR JULY 10, 2023

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.  

Last weekend,  our sons and their children came for a four sleep visit. It was gloriously exhausting. I read all kinds of books with them, but didn't keep track. It was delightful to see my granddaughter, who just turned six, reading (all by herself) the Unicorn Diary series by Rebecca Elliott that we got her for her birthday. 
 
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

FREE VERSE FRIDAY #7 JULY - HOT


CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS


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


This book, right from the first page, was a time warp for me. In September of 1970 I started my last year of high school. The years dropped away as I became immersed in this story. We had girl basketball and volleyball teams when I was in high school, but they didn't get nearly the status or attendance as the boys teams.
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. 


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. 

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


This was an interesting and amusing look at how our digestive system works. The artwork by Jill Enders helps to make the science easier to grasp. I appreciated learning more about the multitude of bacteria that make us who we are. 


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.

CURRENTLY

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson 

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

UP NEXT 

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker

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 


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FREE VERSE FRIDAY #7 JULY - HOT

I'm joining Beverly A Baird, Linda Schueler and others in a "year long poetry practice – on the first Friday of each Month," when they, and anyone else who joins, will be writing a poem based on the theme of the month and a photo taken relating to that theme.

You can find out more about this here.

June was cooler than usual. I longed for the heat, even though I know that when it comes I will moan about that. Today's poem is a reminiscence on the hot, dry, summers of my youth. In the Southern Okanagan Valley here in BC, we live in a semi desert. In summer especially, rain is a rare and special treat! 



Hot

I long for the hot
humid afternoons
of my youth,
hanging out with cousins
at granny’s house

waiting,
watching 
dark clouds
congregate on the horizon

the sky above us
looming,
ominous,
thrilling,

a portent of 
thunder,
lightning,
and rain,

rain for dancing in


The first time I participated, I didn't get the photograph first bit. I let the theme percolate throughout the month before posting and the poem more or less wrote itself. When I realized my mistake, I sent a half decent draft of it to my partner, Randy Rotheisler, and a friend, Ron Peace, both gifted photographers, asking for images to accompany it. We have continued this process. 
Both have brilliantly captured the nostalgia of times gone by in today's poem. 
In case you are interested, both these photographs can be purchased from the photographers. Let me know if you want their contact information. 

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#IMWAYR June 19, 2023

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 husband and I went out for curry dinner last night to celebrate Father's day. We brought home enough leftovers for a couple more meals. Hope all the dads out there had a wonderful day. 

What the heck happened to summer? It was so cold yesterday that I finally gave up and turned on the furnace! It was only 9°c this morning! The good thing about this weather is that I have been able to get the garden weeded. I've been harvesting cucumbers and radishes and yesterday I picked the first zucchini. The raspberries are coming on and wow are they delicious! 

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.

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley January 29, 2019

Mary Walker was an exceptional woman who wore whatever she wanted. She was an abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon, and the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor.
I enjoyed reading about her but wish more people had accepted women and girl's right to wear long pants before I went to school in the 1960's.


I was already a gushing fan of Isobel Greenberg's graphic novels and illustration, so I was predestined to love this feminist, graphic retelling of the myth of Gaia. I wish so much that I was still working in the library so I could purchase this book and share it with readers.
The first part of the book introduces readers to the different gods and goddesses with both an illustration and a write up. The rest of the book is the story of these characters told from Gaia's perspective.
I am looking forward to reading more work by this duo. 

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION
Miriam Brockman and her family have moved to a small town to run, what they soon discover to be, a very run down motel. Miriam is left looking after her little brother while the family is busy working to get it halfway decent for guests. In spite of this, Miriam makes friends with Kate, whose grandmother owns the diner next door. She also connects with Maria, the young adult housekeeper who works at the inn.
When it looks like both the diner and the motel are going to fail, Miriam and Kate come up with a plan to save them all. Whether or not it is ethical, no matter how successful it becomes, is an issue neither of the girls really wants to deal with.
There are other side issues - Miriam is terrified of water but her uncle, who is helping out at the inn until school starts in September, is helping her learn to swim. There are some differences between Miriam's Jewish family and the Christian community, but mostly they adopt a few of each other's foods and get along. When antisemitism raises it's head, and a near tragedy occurs, the family are supported by the rest of the community.

5 stars

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi & Sandy Rustin (Narrator) November 30, 2021 🍁

I have been meaning to read some Lee Edward Födi for ages. Now I wish I hadn't waited so darn long.
Cara Moone attends a prestigious school for wizards - but her family can't know what they do because magic is kept a secret from ordinary people. Unfortunately Cara failed the wizard aptitude test and is stuck in the spell sweeper department. She and her mates are left to clean up residual dust, leftover when their classmates and teachers perform magic. Because of her job, she's on the spot when a monster shows up  and reveals a rift in the fabric of magic. To fix the problem, Cara ends up working with her arch enemy, Harlee Wu, to stop the people causing it. 
This book is full of important messages for ordinary, non wizardly people about accepting and valuing ourselves for who we are. It highlights how important it is to challenge our biases and assumptions about other people and species. 
This was a really good read. I sure hope that this is not the end of Cara Moone's story. 


When her brother, Devin, heads off to university, Riley Henderson is bereft and bewildered. He took care of everything for her, including introducing her to dungeons and dragons. Over time Riley finally makes new friends and starts up a new D&D group. When her brother drops out of school and returns home, he wants things to go back as they were, but Riley and her mother have learned to cope just fine without him. Riley realizes that it's time for her to be the one to look after her brother.
I loved the relationships between Riley and her friends. I loved how they helped and supported one another.

4 stars

The Island of Monsters (Spirit Hunters #2) by Ellen Oh & Amielynn Abellera (Narrator)

This is about the level of horror I can manage. It begins with a spirit eating demon devouring Harper Raine's ghostly friends. Working with her grandmother they manage to find and destroy it. Then when the family is on vacation on a tropical island, they come upon a nest of the creatures. They are devouring the souls of living people and have marked her little brother. Harper's grandmother can't come to help her, so it's up to her to save him and destroy these evil creatures. 

The first book in this series, Ancillary Justice, is the only book to have won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and the Arthur C. Clark Award.

I adored this book even more than the first. 
It is the second in the Imperial Radch Series, staring Breq, a soldier who used to be a warship. Breq is now captain of her own ship. She ends up at Athoek Station where her goal is to protect the family of a lieutenant she once knew and was forced to kill.
The Rache are a nongendered culture. What we would call feminine pronouns are used for everyone. 
"Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy has become one of the new classics of science fiction. Beautifully written and forward thinking, it does what good science fiction does best, taking readers to bold new worlds with plenty of explosions along the way." 

5 stars

Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch #3) by Ann Leckie  & Adjoa Andoh (Narrator) October 6, 2015

I downloaded this book as soon as I finished the second, but forced myself to  listen to other audiobooks that would expire first. I finished one of those, but couldn't wait any longer. I just had to start listening to this one. I needed to be back in Ann Leckie's world. I kind of wish I never had to leave it. I adore her multidimensional characters. I relish the way my mind was bent trying to grasp what it would be like to be both an individual and part of a unit of cognitively connected mind - and what it would be like to lose that connection. I love that this book takes a deep look at what it means to be human, to have personhood, to what Leckie calls, have significance. 

CURRENTLY

Gut by Giulia Enders & Jill Enders (Illustrator)

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki & Carrielynn Victor (Illustrator) April 11, 2023 🍁

UP NEXT 

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca & Priya Ayyar

Hoops by Matt Tavares

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 10/24 one in progress

#MustReadNonFiction 8/20 one in progress

Canadian Authors 23/75 

Indigenous Authors 9/20 

Big Books Summer 2023 - 1/5

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 90/200


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