Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Stop what you are doing right now and go check out The Bloggess.  I’ll wait.

Seriously, how long did you spend on that awesome site?  I don’t do twitter, but if I did I would follow Jenny Lawless.    Read this hysterical feed.

Don’t get lost on Buzzfeed while you are there.  Come back!

Thank you Jenny Lawson. You made me laugh, cry and sit in the driveway listening to one more chapter. I really wish I had found your books before your tour ended.  I would have gone to see you, and maybe tried to find a taxidermied  (I know that is a word.  Go away spell check!) animal to wave at you with.  I love that you love yourself and that you share your struggle in such detail  It’s time to take the stigma away from mental illness and book and blogs like yours will do a lot to move us forward.

I highly recommend this as an audiobook. The author read her story at just the right inflection with a great sense of timing.

 Source:  digital audiobook from my fabulous public library, downloaded to my fancy new phone.

Audience:  adults, mature teens, people who like to laugh, anybody having a hard tim getting through the day

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

So much fun in such a thoughtful package.
I’ve read so many books starring the hero of the crisis. Patrick Ness gives us an excellent view from the other side of the scene. While the heroes are running around saving the world, the rest of us just live here. But if all the regular people aren’t there to witness the crisis, how would we know about the heroic actions?

Patrick Ness has a great website, and a some excellent you tube work too.

 

Click here to visit the author’s site.

Click here to listen to Patrick Ness reading from this book.

 

Source:  ebook from the public library

Audience:  middle school and high school

Jackaby by William Ritter

Cool cover, huh?

Superwholockians (fans of Supernatural, Dr. Who, Sherlock)  are going to love this series.  This is a smart, complicated series with a solid set of characters.  It’s so well-written that you the reader can truly believe the magic amid the historical setting.

If you have enjoyed the Flavia deLuce series, this would be a great follow up.

 

Source:  ebook from the public library

Audience:  middle school, high school, even adults

Take the Challenge 2016

Our friends at Book Riot have done it again.  They’ve created a new challenge for us in 2016. 24 tasks, 12 months. Are you up for it? I may not have achieved all the tasks on the challenge last year, but I certainly did read harder which was the whole point of the challenge. They’ve given us another 24 tasks and handy dandy PDF to keep track of them all.

Click the link below and join me in the challenge.

Book Riot Read Harder 2016

Need some ideas?  The New York Public Library has suggestions for the each task in the challenge

Here is the list:

The Arsonist by Sue Miller

When Frankie Rowley returns to the US after 15 years working for an NGO in Africa she struggles with the temporary nature of her lifestyle. No home, no partner, no place to belong. Her aging parents are struggling with this feeling of transience as well. After a lifetime of moving from college town to college town they have chosen to settle in an old family vacation home; making the switch from summer people to year rounders. But as a health crisis emerges their relationship changes, as does Frankie’s relationship with them.
I enjoyed the slow pace of this book, finding myself re-reading phrases and pages. While I wasn’t completely satisfied by the ending, I did note about halfway though that I really had no interest who the arsonist was. Sue Miller has created a marvelous setting and intricate character relationships.

The publisher has tagged this Mystery/Suspense.  I’ll tag it the way I read it:   Literary Fiction.
Thanks to the public library for making this book FREE for me and everyone else.

Graphic Novels are real reading.

There’s been some discussion in my community about whether or not graphic novels “count” as reading.  In the past, it’s been easy to convince people by noting that our most reluctant readers will pick them up – and that in itself is a good thing.  But it is surely not the only reason to value this genre.

Lat year I read Nothing Can Possibly go Wrong (read the first chapter here) and Friends With Boys.  I read them as part of an assignment; required reading of a sort.  What an eye-opener.  Engaging plots, great characters, strong storylines and themes.  Without the pictures, no story. Without the text, no story.

Then I read Raina Telgemeir’s excellent graphic memoirs Smile and Drama.  When I give them to my students they devour the books.  My brand new copy of Sisters is already looking a bit worn. There is so much buzz about Sisters at my school that I may need to buy a second copy. ( I just noted on Raina’s website that she has taken over The Babysitter’s Club.  Thank you Raina!)

Just this summer I read the moving To This Day by Shane Koyczan.  I had heard his spoken-word essay on You Tube earlier in the year.  To see it in print, illustrated , added so much to my experience of his work.  Listen to him yourself, then go buy the book.

Want something for older readers?  Head out to your local library or bookstore.  Look for Maus, Persepolis, and  Boxers & Saints. All three books will help you look at history in a new, more detailed way.

Learn more about graphic novels with this helpful guide from Scholastic:  “Using Graphic Novels With Children and Teens.”

Please share any good titles in the comments, I would love to hear from you!

Do I read too much?

Nope, I don’t think so.  I’ve logged 66 books on Goodreads this year.

 

Right now:

• I have seven library books on the nightstand and three ebook loans on my Kindle.
• And two books loaned to me by a friend.
• And three audiobooks that I should really be listening to.
• And a stack of magazines perfect for the beach.

I think I might need to read more (or pay some library fines!)

Speaking of the Library…