Reading All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry; Listening to Room by Emma Donoghue; Listening to Far From the Tree by Andrew Soloman. Waiting to be read: Ocean at the End of the Lane, Dune, The Fear, The Well Bequest, Al Capone Does My Homework — and many many other titles. ARGH… Time!
Blog Archives
2013 Summer Reading Recommendations are up for my…
2013 Summer Reading Recommendations are up for my students: http://blogs.dalton.org/mslibrary/2013-summer-reading-list-for-rising-5th-and-6th-grade-students/ and http://blogs.dalton.org/mslibrary/2013-summer-reading-list-for-rising-7th-and-8th-grade-students/ — the Recommended Book Series are also slightly updated: http://blogs.dalton.org/mslibrary/recommended-book-series/
June 11, 2013 · 2:03 pm
Today’s Maurice Sendak’s 85th birthday yes we feel…
Today’s Maurice Sendak’s 85th birthday — yes, we feel that he’s still with us, through his stories, illustrations, works with the theater, and many words of unflinching wisdom! Google Doodles features a great animated tribute to him: http://www.google.com. Go, read something from The Nutshell Library, I Saw Esau, The Juniper Tree, or any of his fantastic books!
June 10, 2013 · 8:44 am
Started Cinda Chima’s Warrior Heir last night and…
Started Cinda Chima’s Warrior Heir last night and just got the audio book of Andrew Solomon’s Far from the Tree (41 hours of listening awaits.)
June 7, 2013 · 3:08 pm
As an act of Literary Cleansing I’m now…
As an act of Literary Cleansing.. I’m now listening to Neil Gaiman’s short story collection Smoke and Mirrors…. read by Neil himself. Just the Introduction for the stories (and that one fabulous tale called The Wedding Present within the Introduction) is 10 times (or more) better than the entire series of Robert Langdon mysteries by Mr. Dan Brown.
May 23, 2013 · 5:12 pm
Finished listening to Catching Fire Found the story…
Finished listening to Catching Fire. Found the story moving at a faster pace than the first time I read it and enjoyed it quite a lot. Started listening to Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Fun so far — wondering how many young readers will get all the witty references and banters. Looking forward to meeting Brandon Sanderson at the Random House BEA party at the end of May!!!
May 9, 2013 · 11:42 pm
Listening to Catching Fire to refresh my memory…
Listening to Catching Fire to refresh my memory – after seeing the trailer for the movie. Reading Mastiff (the 3rd Beka Cooper.) Enjoying both. Catching Fire is better than I remembered…
May 5, 2013 · 11:01 pm
Listening to The Magicians by Lev Grossman and…
Listening to The Magicians by Lev Grossman, and wading through Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli… wading.. because I feel reluctant to get back to the book every time after putting it down… I can’t wait to finish it and figure out why some people seem to really love it.
April 14, 2013 · 10:12 pm
Finished Arkham Asylum the 15 Year anniversary edition…
Finished Arkham Asylum, the 15-Year anniversary edition with David McKean’s artwork. Finished listening to Hart’s Hope. Started listening to The Zombie Survival Guide and reading The Name of the Wind (#1 of Kingkiller Chronicle.)
April 8, 2013 · 9:51 pm
Listening to Hart’s Hope Orson Scott Card reading…
Listening to Hart’s Hope (Orson Scott Card,) reading Hokey Pokey (Spinelli,) and Batman: Arkham Asylum (Grant Morrison.)
April 3, 2013 · 9:25 pm
Finished Tales from Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird…
Finished Tales from Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird; full post to come. Started Grimm Legacy and listening to Too Big to Fail by Sorkin. Will start Batman: Arkham Asylum, excited!
March 16, 2013 · 8:16 am
Started Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick highly intrigued Half…
Started Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick — highly intrigued. Half way done with Batman R.I.P. It’s getting better, narrative strand-wise. And 2/3 done with Malcolm X — learning so much about the Nation of Islam (N.O.I.) history and the facts behind the legend.
March 3, 2013 · 12:31 pm
Started Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg…
Started Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg – and will also read Batman R.I.P. Still listening to Malcolm X.
February 24, 2013 · 11:07 am
Listening to Malcolm X A Life of Reinvention…
Listening to Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable and started The Dead by Charlie Higson.
February 15, 2013 · 2:57 pm
Not that far into Aristotle and Dante Discover…
Not that far into Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, this year’s big youth literature winner. Still in my highly critical mode… so, when I see on page 22, “My dad… was always giving me lectures about physical violence,” and on page 23, “And another thing about my father: He didn’t give lectures. Not real ones,” I am baffled and a little annoyed. Is this same father giving lectures or not? Is this the author not being consistent? Is this trying to say something about the narrator being unreliable? So far, the narrator seems honest so this does not sit well… I will continue reading it but there is a tiny fissure in the landscape of my trust for the author or the narrator. Hopefully I’ll get wrapped up in the story and stop paying attention to little inconsistencies.
February 9, 2013 · 3:58 pm
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore art by…
V for Vendetta
by Alan Moore
art by David Lloyd
I really appreciated the intricate storytelling and some of the truly dark moments in this complete collection of the V stories. It’s great to finally know what this classic graphic novel is about and to have read something by the famed Alan Moore. At the same time, I’m not sure that I bought all the philosophical and political views underpinning the characters and the plot line: it seems to run too straight and too narrow down one singular line and everything worked out all according to V’s plans. That said, it is a rewarding read that demands quite a bit of focus and now I have to ponder hard about the ending: is it a brilliant treatment or does it too abrupt and unresolved? I’d love to hear others’ opinions on the series’ ending…
February 8, 2013 · 6:20 pm
The Darkness Dwellers Kiki Strike #3 Galley by…
The Darkness Dwellers: Kiki Strike #3. (Galley)
by Kirsten Miller
Finished. The first 2013 children’s book that I got to read. A whole bunch of girls (5-8 grade) have been waiting for this to come out for a long long time! Hurray for its final appearance AND happy that they will definitely enjoy it. They will find that the plotting is as adventuresome and surprising as the previous two installments and the tone is as sassy. It’s also delightful to read Ananka’s TIPS for girls that encourage kindness and level-headedness throughout the story.
February 5, 2013 · 10:14 pm
Since Newbery announcement I have Caught up with…
Since Newbery announcement, I have: Caught up with Downton Abbey season 3 episodes, started three books (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secret of the Universe, V for Vendetta, and Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers), seen four performances of our middle school’s amazing production of Fiddler on the Roof and cheered my daughter on with her parts in the show (mostly dancing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kElU7v9rbwI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJWHgZygg98, graded assignments, taught Library classes, and promoted the newest Newbery (and other awards) winning titles … pretty much, things are back to normal!
February 4, 2013 · 12:09 am
In the middle of book 112 and just…
In the middle of book 112 and just can’t bring myself to read another page — I really do want to read on because there are the promised twists and turns and horror and freakiness (from the reviews) — but this book has something that always goes against my reading taste: grossly exaggerated and blatant meanness of school children and adults that reads like a really really bad episode of something from Nick Jr. or Disney Channel. I don’t think I mind the meanness as much as how NOT inventive these behaviors/dialogs are. I can only take that many pages of these unpleasant and cliched behaviors/dialogs before I simply stop trusting the author and his/her ability to weave a quality tale. Moving on…
November 24, 2012 · 11:44 am
This tale started off dealing with one aspect…
This tale started off dealing with one aspect of sibling relationship meandered into a slightly more complicated story that deals with some tough decisions that many young people have to face: friendship and the pressure that comes with it — when choosing the morally correct path is in conflict with securing a strong bond with someone you admire. I think the book succeeds in preaching the “right way” but the problem is also that a young reader can sniff that obvious intention a mile away and might not believe in the perfect, one-sided resolution at the end of the story. The rapid loss of power of the morally questionable but charismatic child just does not ring true.
November 24, 2012 · 11:31 am
