Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 One of my coworkers handed this book to me to read and I literally read it in about 20 minutes. How can three sentences be so powerful? This book, combined with the beautiful artwork, tells the story of a black family in the U.S., grappling with the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. It also tells the story of their grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is beautiful. It's very simplistic, but the artwork speaks volumes to what the author doesn't explicitly say. I loved its overall message and what it was trying to communicate. I particularly love how the narrator points out how the pandemic impacted their family. This is a great book to look at when talking about inferencing. I rated it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ G

 This was our book club choice for 3rd term. Once I was into it, it was really a pretty quick read. Matt does not have an eating disorder, or at least that's what he tries to convince himself of. Not eating simply gives him super powers - the ability to smell other people, to detect how they feel, and to see into their secret pasts. His original intent: discover who chased his sister away and to make them suffer. However, the more Matt digs into the art of starving and his bloody mission, he realizes that his perception is skewed, and not everything is what he thought. Overall, this was not my favorite book. There were some things that I did like: the author is brutally honest about depression, suicidal thoughts, and eating disorders and how it might look in teens. Matt is also a humorous character, which might be his only saving grace. Some of the writing is quite pretty at points, and I loved some of the descriptions from the author. I did not like Matt's overall character, h...

 This is a book I'm getting ready to teach in my AP course for next term to help with the argument section of the test. David and Goliath  explores the advantages of being the underdog, and what makes it possible for Davids to beat Goaliaths. Gladwell attempts to persuade readers that sometimes, being bigger and stronger is actually a disadvantage, and that when a person has nothing to lose, they're more likely to do anything to be successful. Disadvantages can also sometimes be strengths. Gladwell uses real stories from people he interviewed to persuade his readers that people like David are more likely to defeat people like Goliath. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Gladwell uses fantastic real-world examples and stories to prove his point. I think he did a great job setting up his book within the context of the Biblical story of David and Goliath, and I enjoyed the details that he chose to include to make his point. The one complaint that I have was that the last chapter...

 My coworkers were all reading this, and I have to say that I'm fascinated by the royal family, so I gave into temptation and listened to this on Audible. Listening to the audio book was totally the way to go, since Prince Harry reads it himself. Spare  by Prince Harry is a heartbreaking memoir outlining Harry's treatment by the British tabloids. He outlines his experiences with the tabloids from the time his mother died until his departure from the royal family. This fascinating memoir gives an inside look into the workings of the royal family, and their relationships with the press. The memoir certainly makes it look as if all is not well in the house of Windsor, and attempts to set the record straight (from Harry's perspective) of what happened among the family members. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I loved the way Harry writes (and because I listened to it, the way he reads). I found his descriptions of events and places beautiful, and wish I could use it in AP! His p...

This book was recommended to me by one of my teachers as a possibility for AP. I didn't end up going with it, and I don't think I still will, but I very much enjoyed the memoir. I Want You to Know We're Still Here  is Esther Safran Foer's memoir about life after the Holocaust. She describes how her and her parents came to the United States following the end of WWII, and her life following. She is obsessed with discovering her family's history. She describes traveling to Israel and Ukraine to meet with people who knew her family, particularly her father's family. She eventually is able to track down the Ukrainian family who helped hide her father during the war. Through this family, Foer was able to learn about her half sister, who her father had never mentioned. This connection to family is so incredibly important to the author. Overall, I did enjoy this book. The family history side of it particularly drew my attention. In my religion, there is a big focus on f...

This was a series that I was really excited to finish. I loved The Paper Magician  and The Glass Magician , so I was excited to read this one. Ceony Twill has a hidden secret: she can perform all the types of magic. She has discovered the secret to unbinding and rebinding to different materials. She has one last hurtle before she's a full magician: the test. Emery has decided that he will not be the one giving the exam, and instead passes Ceony to another folder: Magician Bailey. As Ceony arrives at Bailey's house, she discovers the depth of his dislike for Emery, and that seems to have passed onto her. Now, with Saraj Prendi on the loose, Ceony decides to track him down herself, fearing for her family. Overall, I did really enjoy this book. I loved Ceony, though she did feel a bit whiney this time. She cleverly managed to solve all of the problems in the book, and I loved her method of solving all of the questions on her magician's test. I thought that the plot was overall...

 I thought it might be fun to look at my reading challenge from last year and look at what I enjoyed the most. I picked my top 5 favorite books from 2022 to highlight one more time. Choosing only five was actually more difficult than I imagined, since I had a lot of favorites. It was also hard to rank them if I'm completely honest, but here is my list! #5 - The Girl Who Drank the Moon  by Kelly Barnhill I loved this book. I loved the whimsical storytelling style and the plot. I loved the characters and how they were developed. I loved how the author carefully crafted the foreshadowing and how she carefully guided you through the mystery of Xan's memories. Overall, this book was so well written. Even though it was a middle grade book, I found myself unable to put it down. #4 - I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys If you've followed my blog, then you probably know that I don't usually care much for Ruta Septys's writing. It's not that I dislike the stories she tells,...