books – Page 2 – Peaceful Reader

Huge gap

I’ve been diligent over the past months to post once a week and I’ve failed on this through this first half of January. What began as, I assumed, a simple cold quickly became so much more and as December ended and the week to return to school approached I decided to get tested for Covid-19. I didn’t have the major symptoms of loss of smell or taste but I did have a cold that defied all my natural home remedies and proven in the past methods of alleviating a cold. It was a lot of deep symptoms and the worst was that we were homebound over the holidays and could not pinpoint how we picked up this terrible virus. Not only did I feel terrible physically but I was angry because we’ve been so careful all throughout this pandemic.

The only highlight was that we’d made it through the Christmas holiday feeling good. It doesn’t matter that I spent New Year’s Eve on the sofa in my pajamas with a box of tissues near me instead of a glass of champagne. I did have an extra week off from school because of how I felt plus my positive Covid test. I went back to school last week and made it through the week with fairly flying colors. I did crash once I made it home but that’s okay. I wish I could say I feel great but that’s not the case; I’m still sneezing, coughing and tired. My husband shared the same symptoms with me and he still feels exhausted. Somehow our Groovy Girl did not get sick and really did a fantastic job of taking care of us. She is going to make an amazing healthcare professional when she finishes school. I felt really blessed that she was still home for her winter break. We all know (most) husbands are not great caregivers and mine was busy being sick himself. It was good to have someone else here who has a gentle hand and a thoughtful heart. She’ll be gone after next week and I hope by that time I feel 100%.

While I’ve been sick I’ve read a few books of course and streamed a little. After watching all of Bridgerton while I was curled up in bed I set a goal to get caught up on The Handmaid’s Tale. I’d lost the thread after a few violent and too close for comfort episodes so I shelved it for quite awhile but recent events got me fired up and I am now finished with season 2 and ready for season 3. With a lot more laughter I finished up Schitt’s Creek and will go back at some point and rewatch all of this series. Laughing out loud is a perfect way to recuperate or stay sane through a pandemic! We also enjoyed the adaptation of our favorite author Chris Bohjalian’s The Flight Attendant on HBO.

Right now I’m reading Deathless Divide, the second in Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation series and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I would love to see Dread Nation and Children of Blood and Bone turned into movies.

I’m anxiously awaiting Inauguration Day because I’m very excited for Dems to be in the WH but most importantly for Kamala Harris to be sworn in as our very first female VP. I’m anxious for our country, for the protests but I have to hope for the best. Welcome to 2021.

Travel Time

If I were to be able to whisper in President-Elect Joe Biden’s ear or lucky enough to have a working lunch with Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris I would ask them to make some changes to the Affordable Care Act to make it more like Bernie’s Health Care For All because while the ACA covers many people and has helped us go in the right direction I just don’t think it’s finished. We need to take it further. Why? Because we have a huge deductible as a middle class family and when we get hit with something our health savings accounts dwindle accordingly. America has such potential and I hope that we are only beginning our true journey toward that; instead of going backward. I listened to a podcast talking about this today as I journeyed home. And this is not to say that America isn’t great already but anything great can always be better. Am I right? Why settle…

I generally flip flop between listening to music on my phone or listening to podcasts. The last few weeks have been filled with a variety of podcasts: Up First from NPR gives me a quick 10 minutes of news every day. I don’t watch news programs ever so this keeps me up on a few major events and we leave it at that. Anything more critical my husband will read me from the newspaper as a good husband should. I also listen to SLJ’s The Yarn and Heavyweight plus I just discovered Teaching Hard History from Teaching Tolerance. I listened to one yesterday and had aenjoyed hearing correct spins on American history. I can’t leave out Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us which always makes me happy.

I spent last night hanging out with Groovy Girl in Iowa City. I felt terribly guilty moving about Iowa because we are such a flaming hot Cheeto for Covid cases. But our plans had been made months ago before our cases surged, we needed some mother/daughter time, and we are both extremely pro-mask. So we picked up Thai food for lunch and ate in the hotel and then we made a quick grocery run so she would have snacks through the next two weeks before she comes home for Thanksgiving. We had a great time cuddling, reading together, watching a couple of things on Netflix (hello New Girl-you still make us so happy) and basically stayed in and away from other people. My hope is that her sophomore year may be filled with the joys of college as it’s meant to be. I don’t want to get used to this as a new norm.

The two cool bookstores in town are both open only for curbside pickup so we couldn’t wander any exciting aisles for books, which we do totally understand and appreciate yet scratch our heads in confusion as people stream to sorority or fraternity house functions, and the bars-all open! The idea is to get over this not just live with it but I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir. Take care of yourselves, take care of your people, and be kind.

Time Travel

I feel like I’m time traveling through the month at light speed, forward motion on zoom. We’ve been lucky to have Groovy Girl home the last two weekends. We’ve hiked in the Fall leaves, we’ve eaten amazing food and cuddled. Her coming home from college at first was like “hmmm, should we fist bump and call it good?” but now we throw caution to the wind, trusting that we’ve all been safe during the week, so that we may cuddle on the sofa together to hang out. She and I are “cuddlers”, we love to share a blanket, the sofa, anywhere where we can snuggle close and breathe each other in. She is really good about wearing a mask in her daily life and only goes to one class – ballet – in person (and they wear masks while dancing) with the rest of her classes meeting virtually so from the comfort of her dorm room.

(source)

Last weekend when she was here I dreamed that I wanted cauliflower tacos and when I googled the recipe I found lots of choices. I had to weed through the recipes because she is allergic to tomatoes. I found a recipe on Bon Appetit that is so FANTASTIC! I made them again this Friday night. We loved that it was vegan, that it needed no other toppings to make it delicious. We tried to add a little goat cheese and did not like the combined flavors as the taco flavor is so bold that it needs no other accompaniments. We did have some of our garden kale cut in to strips to add on and a little fresh baby greens and those two seemed to be fine additions to offer a little extra fresh crunch but otherwise these tacos are spot on perfect and have found a place in our permanent collection. The two sauces are easy to put together and I had everything already in my cupboards. If you are looking for a meat-free dish that comes together quickly this one will not disappoint. Groovy Girl ate 4 the first night we had them.

I finished The Guest List and Wrong guy, Right room; both very good. I lost interest in the Guest List halfway through-felt like we really dipped down with sorrowful tales and back and forth memories but the last few chapters really redeemed the tale. Wrong guy, Right room was delightful. I’m now reading Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt for school; it is on our list for Iowa Children’s Choice Awards this year and it’s good. I’m still working on Untamed by Glennon and I need to review This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, one of my favorite authors, for book club this month. After watching the Smithsonian’s National Book Festival authors this year all online I am trying to read Marlon James’ book Black Leopard, Red Wolf. It’s unique and I’m not sure I’ll make it through it but he was interesting to listen to him talk.

Did you watch the vice presidential debate? I’m super ready for this campaign to be over and a new administration to take office. Please have a peaceful week!

The Choice: Embrace the Possible

Dr. Edith Eva Eger’s memoir is a deep look into what it was like to live through extreme trauma and survive. At 16 Edith was sent to Auschwitz and was herded into one line with her sister and watched as her mother was pushed into another line, one of death. Edith and her sister Magda fight one minute, one hour, one day to make it through their ordeal together. In four parts, Prison, Escape, Freedom, and Healing, Dr. Eger’s shares with us what her own experience was like as well as patients she has worked with who have been imprisoned in other ways. She lets her journey be the guiding force to helping others. I enjoyed her family story very much, as well as her work with patients. Several of the patient accounts made me cry. It is always difficult to read first hand accounts of the Holocaust; the details overwhelming, and painful. I highly recommend her story and want everyone to read it. It’s an critical reminder of how important our freedom is and that we should never take it for granted.

I’ve discovered that I’m baking more these days and I think it is a stress-reliever. Baked goods for mental health! I made this delicious Czech breakfast cake one morning and shared it with friends and another day I woke up really early and made this French apple cake (Once upon a chef) for a trip to Iowa City to see Groovy Girl (Groovy College Student?). I will make both again. I’ve discovered a new little recipe spot on Bon Appetit called It’s Just that Simple! It’s like family recipes that they just talk you through as if they are telling you a recipe over coffee. I made the Desi Omelette one night for a quick dinner and a Korma recipe another night. It’s my kind of easy recipe site-like I’m getting them from friends.

(French Apple Cake)

Reading three books: Untamed by Glennon Doyle, my friend Angelle’s book, Wrong guy, right room, a fun romance book-find it here on Amazon, and The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

Be safe out there. Wear your mask. Stay positive. Do everything you can to get out the vote. Last night’s debate was even more proof that our current leader is completely unstable.

September is really here

and school has been in session for two weeks. No longer am I welcoming students into my amazing library space to talk about books, pick out books, and work on projects. Instead I am pushing my library around on a cart; books and computer riding with me. It is a weird year. Oh did I mention the masks, and face shield, hand sanitizer, wipes-those are all there also.

Kids are happy to be together and most seem to be okay wearing masks everyday. I feel their strength in the idea that it’s better to be together with a mask on than not. We have one 5th grade student demonstrating irony to us every day with his “Trump 2020” black mask. IRONY. We are in this mess because of that guy.

We were to stay positive with both students and staff. I did get more books in on Friday and so next week after school will be a little like Christmas as I unpack them and get them in to our system.

This weekend I’ve done equal parts relaxing and getting things done around the house. The mess of life spirals so easily into piles on tables, mail clutter, laundry…so I worked to get that under control. I’ve also made lemon bars (recipe from my Baking Ill. cookbook), a butternut squash and kale soup, both produce from my garden, and an angel food cake recipe for my mom. She is struggling with some health issues and could use a more desserts in her life.

I am mourning Chadwick Boseman like everyone else in the world. I marvel at his ability to continue to make amazing art while he was very sick. The resiliency of people amaze me. I started to watch the whole Captain America series on Disney so I could understand the story line and see where Black Panther connects up. I also watched the pilot for Lincoln Heights, one of the first shows he did. My husband and I watched a great love story, Always be my maybe with Ali Wong, on Netflix and we started a new show Away with Hilary Swank headed to Mars. We are looking forward to the new series Enola Holmes at the end of September.

I haven’t just been cooking and watching! I am reading The Choice; a memoir by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. My brother sent this to me over the summer and it’s been on that stack of to-reads. Resiliency is the theme here today I guess. We are all going to make it through this one way or another. Let’s get to November, VOTE, and then keep voting for the good candidates, the ones who can get it done like finding ways to end racist laws/practices and climate change. The list is long…

Peace

We are a diverse nation…

In simple terms white people came here with guns and took the land away from the already existing Native tribes. We rounded them up and shifted them to crap government lands. We broke treaties, we killed as if they were animals. Native people were not blameless but what would you do if people tried to take over your land? Fight back.

White people also brought shiploads of Africans here to work plantations and we kept them enslaved for over 200 years on land that we stole from others and when that system ended we came up with sharecropping as a means to keep black people poor and in their place. The list is long through our history of how we kept pushing. Some white people still feel like racism doesn’t exist and they still believe that a black person is beneath them. The officer Derek Chauvin feels that way; you can see it in his body language as he keeps his knee bent into George Floyd’s neck. I have trouble watching the video as most people do. If you think first of other police officers or that All Lives Matter you are missing the big picture. Of course every life does matter but it is the inequality caused by skin color that we mean when we say Black Lives Matter.

I am sure there are many exceptional police officers in this country and inherently in their goodness they should not be sticking up for Derek Chauvin or the other three. I don’t want officers to be killed and I also want all police departments to clean house. They should not be sheltering racist, Nazi sympathizers, white nationalists, power-hungry, violent abusive husbands or men with major anger issues. To fit our diverse world that many of us love and respect we need a police force of empathetic public servants ready to help out in our communities. Many already are successful at this but we still have far too many who would kneel on a man’s neck as a way to restrain and never bother to check on that person or to crash into a woman’s apartment in the middle of the night and shoot. We need to really think about what is important here. If you do not like our diverse population than might I suggest you find another place to live, far far away where you are welcome. I want to live in an America where POC do not fear for their lives and we can truly work toward racial equality.

While looking up the Minneapolis Police Chief I stumbled across their motto:

“To protect with courage, to serve with compassion.” I did not see courage or compassion as they shot pepper bullets and tear gas into crowds of people. I do understand about unions yet they are not meant as a shelter for bad people who break laws against humanity. And it just occurred to me it should be used as a teaching moment. If certain officers are interested in keeping their jobs they should be paired with members of the black or brown community to learn and grow. People can change if given the chance but it should not be at the expense of another human’s life.

I started this post to discuss these two great books yet I couldn’t begin without speaking about these recent events that are overwhelming my being.

One great thing to help students learn empathy is to put diverse books in their hands. I recently read two excellent books that feature Native characters.

I can make this promise by Christina Day (2019) : Edie has always know her mother is adopted but it isn’t until she discovers a box in their attic with pictures of a woman with her name that Edie wants more answers from her family. Day did a great job of integrating Edie’s history and the mystery behind the other Edith with day-to-day friendship problems. An excellent modern day Native American story.

Quote: “The table falls silent, silent, as the sound-the singing-strengthens and rises. Waves lap against the shore, swelling with an incoming tide. And out there, in the middle of the sea, is a line of-canoes. Paddles plunging into the water in brisk, even swipes. Voices harmonizing and bellowing in a language I’ve never heard before.” (p239)

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (2017): Dystopian world showcasing the loss of white culture through their ability to dream (or lack of their ability) and their subsequent search for Native people to steal marrow from which tortures the indigenous people. Schools (assimilation boarding schools) were reinstated to keep groups together for medical experimentation. I hope this book is the first in a series because I would love to know more.

Quote: “We go to the schools and they leach the dreams from where our ancestors hid them, in the honeycombs of slushy marrow buried in our bones. And us? Well, we join our ancestors, hoping we left enough dreams behind for the next generation to stumble across.”

What sustains us?

Food, for one. I am cooking twice as much while we stay home together and I’ve tried to keep it interesting. This week I cooked several winning recipes (and yes, I am patting myself on the back) that my family loved. It’s amazing how busy we are finishing up school projects, books clubs, and homework. Oh and planning a mini socially distant grad party to celebrate our senior. Luckily in our house we are not on top of each other so it is wonderful when we can gather together at the end of a long day to eat together and talk. While the food is important its really the gathering as one that sustains us.

Recipes of the week:

Chicken and Rice with Scallion-Ginger Sauce from the New York Times. It’s worth it to download the Times’ cooking app; it’s my idea starting point. I loved that this recipe used sushi rice and that the flavor reminded me of eating sushi without the rolling work. I sautéed a block of firm tofu to add to it as I’m not a fan of eating chicken. I also used veggie broth instead of chicken broth and we had chicken thighs instead of breasts. I love recipes with a lot of flavor but that aren’t going to take me five hours to prepare. This one won on both accounts and when my husband and I ate the last of it for lunch the next day I added diced orange pepper and zucchini, sprinkled in a little more sesame oil and rice vinegar to refresh the rice. It was amazing the second time around as well.

Chicken Tikka Masala from Jaime Oliver: This one did take a little more time but after hearing my husband talk about really missing Indian food one night I decided to give this recipe a try. I do make a lot of Indian recipes and have a great cookbook, Indian for Everyone by Anupy Singla, that I’ve learned a lot from but this one popped up on Jaime’s IG feed and I was inspired. Searing the chicken was new for me but also made it easier for to eat my Tikka Masala chicken-free because it’s not mixed together during but added as the last step. I served it with Roti from my freezer and cooked in my cast iron skillet on both sides to make it nice and toasty. I’m not a great pre-planner so our chicken breasts didn’t get much more than 20 minutes of marinating time. Next time I would plan ahead a bit more but my two other dinner companions didn’t complain one bit.

Roasted Tomato and White Bean Stew again from the NYT: I made this one just last night. I don’t go out much at all but we had some errands to run for our soon-to-be graduate and I went to the grocery store with my husband. He pushed the cart while I tossed things in and realized I missed being able to see stuff and choose it instead of me relying on my husband with the list. In preparation for the long weekend I had two recipes picked out to try and purchased all ingredients plus pantry replacements. This white bean dish was so, so simple to put together and added a spicy warmth to a chilly day. There was murmurings of joy and I watched my husband literally like his bowl. Next time I will double this recipe so there are more leftovers. I imagine it would be excellent the second time around. I served it with mini Naan flatbread toasted from the oven. All three of these recipes will be on rotation at my house now. It’s great to find new favorites to get us through this world crisis.

Books, for two. I recently read two amazing fiction books and feel that everyone should read them as well. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent was a compelling story about Agnes who has been sentenced to death after the man she works for and has loved is murdered. This book takes place in Iceland in 1829 and I can’t say I’ve ever read a book with this particular setting. I thought I might get bogged down by the unusual and long names but they flowed once I connected with Agnes’s story. This book is based in reality as their was a real-life Agnes accused of murdering her employer and lover. From Adelaide, South Australia Hannah Kent heard the story during the year she spent as a teen in Iceland on a Rotary Exchange. This was her first book. Right out of the shoot an amazing story, award-winning and all!

A little over a year ago I joined Book of the Month Club because, after reviewing the format, I wanted some hand-picked and new book choices. I have thousands of book already in my house-maybe less now that we cleaned one entire book shelf clean over Spring break-still many, many volumes of great books already live here. To justify joining a club that would bring me more shelves of books I asked my husband to share the experience. So every month we look at the selections together and make a choice. That way we are both invested and we like reading the blurbs from the literary crew that does the picking.

One month as I read through favorites on the BOTM website I came across The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne which won Book of the Year in 2017 and added it on to my order. I finally picked it up a week ago with some trepidation because of its size but as I read the first few chapters any lingering concerns were flung away as I buried my nose in the book sneaking hours away from my to-do list to get another section read. The book made me laugh out loud many times yet I cried when I turned the last page as I stood up at my kitchen counter waiting for my toast to pop. I loved this book. I felt such a deep connection to the main character, Cyril, and his ability to mess things up unwittingly. When your nearest library or local book store opens up, don your mask, and get yourself a copy.

Stay safe out there even as many business begin to reopen. During this time we’ve found much to sustain us right here at home and we will continue that through the summer so stay healthy.

Moving forward to keep sane

Welcome to the new normal. Just about a month ago my Spring Break started with a small gathering of teachers at a local bar. We talked about our conferences, the virus, the book fair, what fun things we were going to do with our free time over Spring Break. One person said “maybe we’ll have a week or two off to keep the virus at bay.” I’d like to take that day back and appreciate that moment just a bit more. I would have hugged everyone at the table as we left that night because the fun things we had planned to do together over our break never materialized. We were asked as a state to not gather and then pretty quickly our restaurants, breweries, and bars closed except for take-out and while we were still “relaxing” we were all worried how far this would go.

That reality was announced yesterday when our governor closed schools for the remainder of the year. Tears, heartbreak, and anger are mixed with the mixed blessing of better safe than sick. I miss my students but I can be happy at home because I like my own time. I can fill it with all kinds of activity. I read, cook and bake, put together lessons for my students, relax with my two dogs, and I can watch the birds and other wild things in my backyard for a good long time. I know my daughter feels robbed though as this IS her senior year. I feel robbed of experiencing that with her. We had talked about prom dress shopping but hadn’t actually started, we have beautiful grad announcements on our table, we have hopes for a final dance recital to culminate her years of dance and a solo to perform one last time. I cried when our governor said the words yet we’ve moved on already. As May approaches we may fall back into grief and by that time we may be starting to get sick of each other.

As it is now we seem to be forging ahead. Being around my husband 27/7 is annoying somedays but we work it out. I love my own quiet time and he is extremely active. He worked long hours at the theatre, often late with rehearsals so I’ve always had lots of space. Lucky for me he is still going for long runs, spending time at the theatre- volunteering his time with the hope that theatre will begin again in June or July, and works outside when he can. He is filled with projects because he isn’t good at sitting still. I start my day with yoga most days and have done a lot of deep cleaning of my house, yet I have no problem stretching out in a chair reading for a few hours or watching Anne w/ and E with Groovy Girl. Eating a fair amount of dark chocolate also helps.

I’ve read 6 books in the time we’ve been sheltering at home. All of them good, some of them amazing reads. I’ve zoomed with students, teachers, and had a few happy hours/dinner hours with friends and family. I’ve watched quite a few shows and movies.

Books:

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates: excellent look at The Underground Railroad. Coates has an amazing writer voice.
The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald: 800+ pages of excellent writing about a Canadian family living on an Army Base with many twists and turns.
Love Among the Ruins by Robert Clark: True love for two teenagers in 1968. William is afraid of the turns the world will take after Robert Kennedy is killed and the riots during the Democratic Convention in Chicago.
Goodnight, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson: Story of Malvolio and Nova in London as they navigate friendship and love in the adult world.
Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy: Wow! I read this one in two days because I just had to know what happened to the children. My husband and daughter both read it before me so this morning we were able to talk about the characters and Meloy’s airtight writing.

I’m also reading Moving Target by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (great adventure in Rome) and Maximum Ride by James Patterson (group of unusual kids with out-of-this-world skills) to 4th and 6th grade students through videos posted to Google Classroom.

Streaming:

Little Fires Everywhere, Sex Education, Harlan Coban’s The Stranger, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and recently discovered Kim’s Convenience. We also had a list of older movies we wanted Groovy Girl to see and we’ve made it through a few: Pretty Woman, Something about Mary, The Talented Mr. Ripley were all good to watch.

She particularly loved Pretty Woman and we were thrilled by Mr. Ripley. I’d avoided that movie years ago because I thought it was too creepy (as is The Stranger) and it was but it’s easier to take when we’re all there together which really sums up this pandemic. We have to be better together even though we are apart. I’m quite angry with Trump for not taking this serious right away because for me that’s what it means to be president; to see a little into the future and take steps to contain and control. He didn’t do that. I’m happy to have my family around me as we weather this crisis. I’ll miss being physically with my son’ for his 25th birthday, I missed my trip to Guatemala, and many other important moments and I’ll do all this to keep people safe. I’m not going to cry about my freedom or what should have been. I just need to keep moving us forward.

What are you doing to keep sane?

What a crazy summer!

photo: Scott Shepard

This feels like the middle of summer; it’s hot and the sweet corn is up and being sold on street corners all over the Cedar Valley. I’ve packed in a lot over the summer but I need a few more slow days reading in the hammock (when it’s not a 100 degrees out) and relaxing with friends. It’s been so busy writing hasn’t happened as much as I like; I dream up blog posts but they stay there in my mind.

I did make a big batch of yogurt at the beginning of July. Delicious and creamy, mixed with fruit preserves and pumpkin butter it is the best start to my day. When I make it I don’t use the cream in the recipe-I just used good quality, local 1% milk. I recently found a easy (two ingredient) coconut yogurt recipe from Minimalist Baker that I want to try for my dairy-free Groovy Girl.

My husband and daughter have been very busy with our summer musical production of Beauty and the Beast. She’s had a great time as an ensemble character; she dances, she plays a wolf, Maria, the baker’s wife, and a townsperson. It has been quite a run, with sold out performances, and today the run is done so life might be a tiny bit quieter. (maybe)

I have made it to yoga more than a handful of times which was on my summer plan. I’ve recently read several articles talking about the importance of meditation on our brain. It’s a matter of settling our brain from 5-50 minutes; the more we let it rest, the better our mind functions. It makes sense of course just like sleep for our bodies. I’ve added that to my day even if it is just 5 minutes of quiet breathing in the car before I get out.

I’ve read quite a few great books already and I still have a full basket to go. Every summer I bring home a crate of books to read. Some are books that students loved and it’s my turn to try them and some are books I read to pre-choose the Iowa Children’s Choice Awards. I love doing this as I like to make sure there are a lot of well-rounded choices; books with diversity, books that take kids out of their small-town Iowa world, books that expand their minds, books that tell amazing stories. I’ve read a few that fit this description:

1. Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan – As a Pakistani-Muslim girl in American Amina struggles to mix her family’s culture while blending in at school. Luckily she does have one true friend in Soojin who seems more adept at understanding people. This is a rich story filled with family, food, and new beginnings but also devastating vandalism of her beloved mosque. One of my favorite quotes from the book is from her brother Mustafa – “It’s just so freaking unfair. What kind of person would want to destroy a place where people gather to pray and learn?” My thoughts exactly.

2. Bob by Wendy Mass – This story is a bit of magical realism more than fantasy to me. Livy and her mom come back to visit her grandmother in Australia 5 years after their last visit. When Livy explores her mother’s old room and the room she stayed in when she was little she finds a young greenish creature named Bob in her closet. Bob remembers everything from her last visit but Livy struggles with these same memories. She makes it her duty to figure out how to get Bob home (wherever that might be?) while her mother is off visiting old friends for a week. I had trouble getting into this story yet I liked the conclusion of Bob’s story.

3. Merci Suarez changes gears by Meg Medina – This excellent title won the Newberry medal this year! This story resonates with her family’s rich family culture as Merci navigates her private school surroundings as a scholarship culture. Eventually she learns that if she stays true to herself all will work out. Her grandfather plays a large role in her life and his world is changing as he ages and this affects the whole family as they learn to deal with his aging mind.

4. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed – Amal lives in Pakistan with her family and she loves going to school and being in her village. Her only dream is to become a teacher. One day she has a heated encounter with her village’s horrible landlord and her dreams are quickly disrupted as she learns what it means to have an enemy. I loved this story and learned a great deal about Pakistani culture. I hope she is working on a second book of Amal so we can see if she realizes her dreams.

5. Aru Shah and the end of time by Roshani Chokshi – I’m only about 5 chapters in but am in love with this fast-paced fantasy book about spunky Aru who has awakened a demon in her mom’s Indian museum. This is one from Rick Riordan’s new imprint and it is excellent.

I’ve also read Helen Hoang’s two books; perfect, quick summer reads and sexy-not for the prudish. These are modern day romance novels even though the covers do not feature bodice-ripping of any kind. I like the characters which feature people on the autism spectrum. I read this fantastic Washington Post article about Hoang and her desire to write romance novels. Very sweet, super sexy, and I will read every book she puts out…

How is your summer?

Happy July!

I’m not a fan of our flag yet I am a happy to have the right to voice my opinions about our country and it’s love of symbols. While I’m spouting off about unpopular concepts I am also not a fan of fireworks-especially the kind sold in every parking lot across America leading up to this holiday. They are loud and intrusive and dangerous.

I didn’t come here just to complain about holidays though; I thought I’d share some of my top books. Litsy, the book site I play with other than Goodreads, has a thing right now to post your top reads from January to June and these are mine. All excellent reads if you are in need of a new summer title.

I’ve had some time to enjoy real summer days after my trip to Colorado and yesterday I spent a couple hours reading on our patio. I also was in my pajamas until about 1pm. It rocked. I even had a friend show up with lunch and a cold coffee brew and I stayed in my pajamas. It’s a joy to unwind and take a break. I am taking one class right now about gender and while it is a lot of work to type out the papers I am enjoying the readings that go with the class.

Take it easy today, remember what our country should stand for and that it has been GREAT for many, many years and spend time with family and friends. Be careful with your fireworks and be kind to the environment~it’s the only one we have.