new books – Peaceful Reader

Beautiful Books

I’ve struggled with getting back into writing over the last few months. I’m tired after school, I don’t feel like I have much to say, or I can’t think of what I wanted to say…

There is such a thing as surgery brain and I feel like I still have it. I’ve been reading some very good books and cooking a lot especially for tomorrow’s family day. We are having a full vegan spread with Tristan and Japhy. I’m in the middle of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz which is so interesting.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2022) : This was an intense story of competition and family connections. Carrie is a not some cute little tennis player that you adore. She’s fierce and not interested in making friends on the tennis circuit or in life for that matter. I read this book awhile ago but Carrie has stayed with me. I loved Daisy Jones and the Six which had a different style but just as interesting. Reid goes all in for her characters.

This Must Be The Place by Maggie O’Farrell (2016): I just finished this for book club and enjoyed the story. O’Farrell wrote Hamnet which I loved and so we picked another one of her offerings. This story has a crazy amount of characters but the story of Daniel is well-told and traverses continents.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993): I’ve wanted to read this for quite awhile but I’d read a few reviews of how real this one was so I waited until I was in the right space. Election time seemed to be the perfect time! It freaked me out and I was fascinated with the main character Lauren and how right Butler was about the direction our American society has gone. I want to read the rest of the series when I have time.

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (2022): This was beautifully written but so glaringly real and heartbreaking. It’s a tough story about Kiara and her brother Marcus who are trying to live their lives in East Oakland after their father’s death and their mother’s arrest after a terrible grief-driven crime. This story was hard to read but well-worth it as it shined a light on how deep the lack of privilege is for young women.

If you are in need of a good story any of these will do very well. This week I also found a beautiful Native story Keepunumuk; Weeachumn’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten. This is such a great story for understanding the real story of tomorrow’s holiday celebration. I’ve decided we are going to forever more refer to it as our Harvest Festival. Enjoy…

What I'm looking forward to reading…

My reading goal for Goodreads is 70 books and considering I accomplished 65 last year I think this is a very feasible goal. There are so many great books on the horizon and I have a huge stack of Book-of-the-Month choices and a few books from my Christmas list. I’ve got plenty to read and this year once again I will probably have plenty of time to kick my feet up and read.

Here are the 9 that I’m most excited about:

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara– I loved A Little Life and hope this one lives up to the buzz. This one weaves together three different timelines including a futuristic look at our world in 2093. I don’t own this one so if you have a copy let me know. Otherwise I’ll have to be on a wait list at the library.

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich-One of my favorite authors I’m very much looking forward to reading this “wickedly funny ghost story” according to the inside blurb! I do have a copy of this one signed by the author from her bookstore, Birchbark Books, in Minneapolis.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid– I loved, loved, loved Daisy Jones and the Six and hope this one will be just as interesting. Set in 1983 the story takes place all in one day as the Rivas family prepares for their annual end-of-the-summer bash. Got this one from BOTM and it is on my up-next stack.

We are the Brennans by Tracey Lange-This story follows the life of Sunday Brennan as she makes her way back to her family after a drunk driving accident. This book was not on my radar until I heard the Readheads talking about it. More on that later.

Klara and the Sun by Kazua Ishiguro- Never Let Me Go has been on my to-read pile for awhile and I need to move it up and then read this one as well. Klara an AI Friend is the narrator and she has amazing skills of watching human behavior. I’m not a science fiction fan but this idea is intriguing.

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry– Groovy Girl stole this one off my book pile over winter break. Another BOTM club pick I look forward to this relationship beach read about Poppy and Alex and the fallout from a bad decision that cost them their friendship.

The Family by Naomi Krupitsky- A debut novel about two best friends surviving through the shared experience in the Italian Mafia Family when the disappearance of one of their father’s begins to cause conflict in their lifelong friendship. (BOTM)

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw – A mystery about a missing woman and a foreboding place known as Pastoral; a reclusive community founded by like-minded people searching for a better way of life. (BOTM)

As you can see I am way behind on my long list of BOTM-probably should cancel for the next few months as I catch up. I need to finish Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and begin Kent Nerburn’s The Wolf at Twilight so I can return it to the friend who lent it to me (thank you Gabbi!) Plus my stepmother gifted me Amanda Gorman’s new book, Call Us What We Carry, and yesterday my mother-in-law recommended The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin, and I have the Leigh Bardugo follow up series King of Scars and Rule of Wolves to read this winter (also on loan from friends).

Zowie! I should be off reading in a corner somewhere. What are you looking forward to reading?

Someone recently turned me on to the book podcast The Readheads Book Club starring four college friends. You feel like you’re part of the book club as they discuss a wild amount of titles! Luckily it only arrives once a month!

It is freezing here so I’m off to cuddle up and finish Bed Stories by Tao Lin.

ThinkIn15 with Mr Schu

On Saturday I participated in a ThinkIn at an elementary school about 45 minutes away. Even though it was gorgeous weather on Saturday and I live to be outside when it is so lovely out, I went. I could have rolled over at 7:30 am and gone right back to sleep as the other peeps at my house did but I didn’t. I had a strong conviction to go because Mr. Schu (John Schumacher) was the guest speaker and I love to follow his lovely blog posts and tweets. He’s created quite a community of readers, authors, bloggers, librarians, and teachers. I gave up my Saturday morning for him and it was well worth it.

He had a plethora of slides about connecting students with books to start the day off and we didn’t even get to half of his slides. He says he has OCD when it comes to making slide shows. That OCD is exactly what makes him entertaining to see in person. He flits from story to story, sharing funny anecdotes about authors he’s met, and his own quirkiness. He has a smell test for all new books. Yes, I said smell test as in “doesn’t this book smell a-m-a-z-i-n-g!”

I had many things I wanted to say to him but I’m nervous and weird and can never get the right sentence out at the right time so I nodded my head a lot in the two conversations we had. One of the things I wanted to say was that I loved Matthew Baker’s book, If you find this, which when Mr Schu shared about this book everyone else looked at it like they’d never heard of it and he said he couldn’t find a copy of it in the book stores he stopped in on his way through Iowa. Hmmm. I loved the book and we need to start a buzz about If you find this.

His second presentation shared lots of new books with us and he gave away lots of books. He talked about authors he loves like Kate DiCamillo, Ame Dykeman, and Katherine Applegate and he likes funny books which made me wonder if he likes Emily Gravett books. Her books are unusual and kids like her sense of humor.

I was the lucky winner of TWO books from Mr. Schu (thank you, thank you!); A passion for elephants; the real life adventure of field scientist Cynthia Moss by Toni Buzzeo and Holly Berry and Ivan; the remarkable true story of the shopping mall gorilla by Katherine Applegate and G. Brian Karas. I loved The one and only Ivan also by Applegate and many teachers use it for a read aloud so this book will make a great addition to our library. And did I mention that it’s signed by K. Applegate!

I think it is interesting that I got two books with super long titles and both about animals. I had to sit on my hands for the rest of his giveaways and it was very difficult; he had so many great books to give away. My friend Nancy was the lucky winner of Brian Selznick’s new book The Marvels.

You can find Mr Schu’s wonderful blog posts at Watch. Connect. Read. I love reading his posts, his book recommendations make my lists long on Titlewave, and he entertains using Vine and lots of book trailers.

Top Ten Tuesday; Authors I've discovered

2012 New discoveries for me:

(links take you to my review)

A.S. King

Loved Ask the Passengers.

Colleen Clayton

Ditto for What Happens Next?

Kelly Barnhill

Iron-Hearted Violet-excellent.

Lauren Oliver

Liesl and Po!

Patrick Carman

(Groovy Girl and I are reading The Dark Hills Divide together and love it)

Anabel Pitcher

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece-timely realistic fiction

Love Maia

True urban tale DJ Rising

Katherine Schlick Noe

Native American reservation fiction in Something to Hold

Louise Erdrich

(knew of her; just had not read any of her books,

loved The Birchbark House series and am now

reading The Round House)

Thank you to all these wonderful authors for brightening my year!

This meme is featured over at The Broke and the Bookish and one day

I will have my post ready so I’m not the thirteen thousand participant!

Book Fair Shopping

My book fair is all set up. I stayed late to do it on Friday after school so it will be all set for Monday. In between classes and during conferences I’ve done some serious browsing and there are so many books that I want; some for school and some for myself. Here’s a partial list:

1. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth.

Welcome to The Merriwether, Florida’s once-grand-hotel built on Hope Springs, where nothing is quite as it seems. Hidden staircases give way to shadowy servants’ quarters, and old-fashioned speakeasies make for the perfect hide and seek spot. Allie Jo Jackson knows every nook and cranny of The Meriwether-she’s lived there her whole life-and nothing surprises her, until the first time she spots the beautiful Tara emerging from the water of the springs. Tara’s shimmery skin, long flowing, and fondness for moonlight swims hint-and once Allie Jo and her friend Chase discover Tara’s secret, nothing will ever be the same.

2. The Healing Spell by Kimberly Griffiths Little.

Eleven-year-old Livie is keeping a secret, and it’s crushing her. She knows she is responsible for her mother’s coma, but she can’t tell anyone. And it’s up to her to find a way to wake her mamma before anyone uncovers the truth of what really happened.

3. Radiance by Alyson Noel.

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife-a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice neighborhood. When she is summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definetely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many soul catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley…(I enjoyed reading Everafter and this seems different yet similar)

4. Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow. (and for my historical fiction craving)

World War II has just ended when 13-year-old Mikhail finds a dying man and his German shepherd, Zasha, in the woods. It’s dangerous-some say traitorous-to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive.

5. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson.

Lying in bed at night, twelve-year-old Henry York can’t ignore the thumping and scratching he hears on the other side of the wall. He scrapes off the plaster and discovers doors-ninety-nine cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he hears the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room-with a man strolling back and forth! Henry and his cousin Henrietta soon understand that these are not just cupboards. they are, in fact, portals to other worlds. I noticed on the author’s website their are already books 2, Dandelion Fire, and 3, Chestnut King, ready in this series, which means no waiting around for more.

All synopsis notes are from the back blurb on the book.

That is just from the fiction section.

A whole ‘nother post is waiting for the fabulous picture books from the book fair!!

and a Rant for the day:

The word of the day is BOOK-whenyou bring your child to the BOOK fair-buy them a book, then if they still want the pencil with the Pokeman eraser, go for it. But the BOOK is the most important item. After all it is a BOOK Fair, not a crazy writing utensil fair. There I’ve said my piece.

New Books!

Two days ago 10 boxes arrived from Titlewave-my big shipment for the year and it is a little like Christmas here. I don’t plan to put them out until we come back from holiday but my volunteer, Janice and I have had a blast going through them, reading and stamping and just holding them!!

Just a short run down of the many titles I now have:

Picture Books

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown
Disappearing Desmond by Anna Alter ( Abigail Spells is a favorite of mine!)
Thunder Boomer by Shutta Crum (Amazing illustrations by Carol Thompson)
The Enemy; a book about peace by Davide Cali
Guinea Pigs Add Up by Margaret Cuyler
The Travel Game by John Grandits

Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt by Leslie Kimmelman

1 Zany Zoo by Lori Degman (Cheerios New Author contest winner)

Tacky Christmas by Helen Lester

Shadow by Suzy Lee

Thank You Bear by Greg Foley (winner of the handsome author award*wink*)

Chapter Books

The Magic Thief series by Sarah Prineas
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

The entire Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (now I can finally finish reading the last two!)
Road to Tater Hill by Edith M. Hemingway
Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams
The Problem with the Puddles by Kate Feiffer
The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell
Neil Armstrong is my Uncle and other lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

Nonfiction

The Red Hen by Emberley and Emberley
Do Bees Make Butter by Michael Dahl
Mirror, Mirror by Marilyn Singer
and three new cookbooks for all my little cooking patrons including this one.

I did get a lot of nonfiction but I get less excited about it but these are my top choices- I know that’s bad as a librarian but I am a fiction fan.

My top two questions now

1. How am I going to get them all home to read and share with Groovy Girl over break?
2. How can I get a holiday extention so I can finish reading all that I want to read over my break?

I am glad we are staying here for the holidays so I can do lots of reading!!

Catching Fire

I read it in just a few short days and I loved it. It truly amazes me when authors are so prolific w/ new ideas. I thought Suzanne Collins’ series, Gregor was fascinating. This whole created world underneath our world, accessed through a vent in a laundry room was cool and now, to have created this look into the future through The Hunger Games; well, I’m just bowled over with her creativity!
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1543302482

Enjoy the video and click here for Scholastic website where I found tons of cool videos featuring Suzanne Collins discussing life, books and the similarities between Gregor and Hunger Games series. What impresses me most is how real her characters become and how involved I feel. I worry when Katniss doesn’t eat enough. I feel involved with Peeta, Prim, and Gale and this time getting a closer look at past games and how they affected their parents generation was interesting. A peaceful person by nature, I struggle through the actual Hunger Game event, which causes me to cheer when Katniss truly listens to Haymitch’s message; who is the real enemy?? I’m excited for the next in the series but I’ve got a lot of other books to read in the meantime!

Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

We’ve read our ARC (yes, we’ve had it for awhile now) of Little Oink by A.K.R and illustrated by Jen Corace , quite a few times. I read it to J. first, then again, again and now she has read it to me a few times
Let’s hear what she thinks of this fabulous book: Me: So, honey what do you think of this book?

J.: “I think the illustrations are cool because she puts lots of little detail in it, I like the story because it is switched around; usually parents are clean and in this book, the parents are messy and the ‘kid’ is clean and not messy!” “The illustrations pop-out at you-a lot of detail and speech bubbles!” “I like the trees and the greens and browns in the picture and then the pig’s stripey shirt” “and I like the writing on the chalk board in the school room and the ‘students’ eating from the trough.” and I like the nighttime scene where they are doing ‘this little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home…‘, I like how the dad has a big dirt stain on his shirt”-“all I really have to say is it is awesome and unique!” followed by a giggle!!

J. used the word “detail” quite a few times in reference to the illustrations as well. I love the continuous run-on thought-process. I had trouble keeping up typing and I am pretty fast. I don’t really know what I can add to that amazing asses ment except I love the book as much as Little Pea and Little Hoot!

I love the switch-around message for a reminder of our own individuality!! My Mom used to call it “marching to the beat of a different drummer”, in reference to me.
I think these books demonstrate those qualities extraordinarily!! As I browsed her website I noticed several other new books.
I already have Duck! Rabbit! in my library collection(can’t wait to share it with little ones in the Fall) and will be looking to add Spoon as well. Whomever Amy Krouse Rosenthal is teamed up with she seems to shine with unique ideas!
Enjoy!

Little Oink
April, 2009
Chronicle Books

Watch the book trailer here!
Another great review here!

Just Read

After dance class tonight J. and I went around the corner to the public library and found the children’s librarian putting out brand-new books!! We were so excited we picked a few…so tonight we read:

Sally and the purple socks by Lisze Bechtold (2008)

Loudmouth George earns his allowance by Nancy Carlson (2007)

and

Oink, Oink, Benny by Barbro Lindgren and Olaf Landstrom (2008)

They left both of us smiling…

Sally is a duck and she mail orders a pair of incredible purple socks-the socks, which grow, are really quite versatile! The illustrations are simple allowing the socks to really shine.

Loudm

outh George is a typical Carlson character, who’s been given chores for the summer (great way to understand helping out around the house-might have to read it to my 14-year-old). George, of course, is busy enjoying the beginning of his summer with games, swimming, and building. His wise mother won’t let him go to the movies with Harriet until the chores are finished and he earns his allowance. The lesson is in how the chores are accomplished and we thought poor George learned his lesson for the summer!

Benny and his baby brother, cute pigs, head outdoors to play as the mom reminds them to not go to the mudhole. I asked J. for a little prediction here and naturally she answered uh, oh…they are heading to the mudhole. Oink, Oink (yes, yes) and while the pigs play with a few other cuddly creatures, they get muddy. Uh, oh! Luckily, Mother Nature saves them on the way home. I really liked the illustrations in this one, especially the little brother dressed in his diaper, Tibetan ski hat, pacifier as round as his nose and his what-looks-like an ugly monster doll with 3 large button

s. I also spied the three little pigs by the mudhole-naturally they would be where the mud is! Check out these other blog words on these titles!
Maya Reads

Pink Me

Now for myself I have to finish Red Glass by Laura Resau tonight so I can begin The Hunger Games and my brand-new ARC of Al Capone shines my shoes sent to me by Gennifer Choldenko!!! Thank you Gennifer!!