Sunday, August 30, 2020

August Reading UPdate

Such a busy time of the year...for those in education...BUT...still plenty of time (surely!) to pick up a good book and escape for a bit!

Listed below are my most recent reads:
    45. Strive for Happiness in Education by Robert Dunlap (#BookCampPD Book Club/Twitter)
    46. Cursed series (four ebooks) by Claire Farrell (SCHS Student Online Book Club)
    47. Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
    48. Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown (Lyon College Alumni)
    49: Becoming Better Grownups by Brad Montague (Colby Sharp Book Club)

As you might note, most of these are for book clubs as these groups push me from my comfort reading zone and encourage my journeying to experiences and genres that I might not have chosen for myself.  Yes...for, afterall, is this not what we do to our students?  Just think what we read in high school...and those I am about to assign as core texts this year:  The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men.  See?!

Two of the above from August's list of titles, Strive for Happiness and Becoming Better Grownups, complimented the other very nicely, each containing reminders that I (obviously!) needed in my life, as we continue living in the Era of the Pandemic.  Both, full of pearls of wisdom and encouragement, inspire, question, and motivate this 30-year veteran teacher.  Just perfect!  NOTE:  Becoming Better Growups also includes a children's book!  Very powerful!  (This one you will want to own!  Truly!)

Cursed and Chosen Ones took me to worlds of fantasay...nice escapes, yes?...and reminded me of our days of readng Harry Potter and Twilight and other such fun series.  Cursed (a series of four)...I read with a group of students this summer in our online book club. Yay!  I, also, enjoyed Chosen Ones, Veronica Roth's new adult novel.  This one could easily become a series...I hope so!  NOTE:  I checked this one out using the OverDrive app...yes, as an ebook.  Do I like ebooks anymore than I did when the Pandemic began?  Hummmmm...no, not really.  I just love books!  But...despite my husband's affirmation that "One cannot own too many books," I am attempting to decide of which ones I want to own personal copies.  Now...should this become a series...yes, I will need to own them all!  Yikes!

I just finished Watch Me Disappear last evening...stayed up until after midnight.  Don't you just love when a book graps you like that?   So there...that question alone should confirm my recommendation!  I just had to keep reading to find out what happened to the mom...who had disappeared.  I do look forward to listening to book club (we meet via Zoom...and Zoom does not connect the best where we live in the country...so I will just listen and "chat" in the Chat Box!).

What are you reading good?  Please share!  I am always looking for titles to add to my TBR list!

Stay safe!