Monday, July 1, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/1/13



It's Monday! What are you reading? --From Picture Books to YA--is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.  Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.

This week was a busy week for me.  I traveled out to CA last Friday to spend some time with my sister, brother-in-law and baby niece.  My sister had her last week off this week and starts back to work tomorrow.  I have the distinct pleasure of being the first person to provide daycare for my niece.  This week I spent a lot of the time I would usually spend reading just hanging out with my sister.  We spent a lot of our time watching fun reality shows that neither of our husbands like.  Sister bonding at its finest ;)

Did you see that there is a new show called Whodunnit?  I absolutely LOVE mysteries!!!  I can't wait to see the murder mystery every week and the contestants participating in the crime solving.  It is like a really long murder mystery dinner show!  

Books I Finished This Week:

I got Dead Letter Office by Kira Snyder on NetGalley.  It is a really fun mystery with some supernatural elements.  What is unique about this one is the fact that it has a choose-your-own-adventure component to it.  At a few key moments in the book, the reader decides what the main character should do or who she should trust for advice.  I would be curious to go back and reread to see how the story goes if the other choices are made.  I think this is a fun idea and I really enjoyed this story.  There are going to be more in the series and I definitely will look for them when they come out.  I would recommend this one to middle school students and up.  

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer is phenomenal!  I read Cinder last year on a trip out here for my sister's graduation from medical school.  I think I was a little distracted because I liked it but didn't love it as much as many people did.  After reading Scarlet, I am kind of wondering what I was thinking.  I absolutely love the world that exists in these books.  I am very intrigued and I have a hard time imagining how things will work out in the end.  I love it when authors can make things so mysterious and suspenseful for me.  I love all of the characters and cannot wait until February 4th, 2014 when Cress comes out.  This is just such a creative premise...fairy tale characters in a very science fiction world...WOW!  

Books I am Currently Reading:

This is a long list because I seem to be very indecisive lately. I did not get a chance to listen to my audiobook of Through The Ever Night last week, so I am still working on getting through that one.  I am reading On Writing by Stephen King as part of my goals for Teachers Write.  I also got about halfway through Quiet by Susan Cain and will finish that this week.  The last book I am currently reading is Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff.  I felt that I needed a quick and light read so I could get through it quickly.  

What's Next?

I have a pile of books I brought with me to get through.  I will probably pick up the fourth Pretty Little Liars book because I know it will go fast.  I also found Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick at the library and am excited to read that one.  If I finish On Writing, I will start Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson.  I read his newest book last summer and got to hear him speak in February so I look forward to reading about some practical strategies that I can incorporate into Writing Workshop.  

What are you reading?  Have a great reading week!

7 comments:

  1. I decided not to have the Pretty Little Liars series in my middle school library. I'll be curious to see what you think of the fourth one, since I stopped reading early on! A lot of my 8th grade girls want the books, but luckily our public library delivers!

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    1. I really didn't like the first book either. Then I stumbled upon the first 5 books in the series on clearance at Half Price Books. I decided to buy the books because the 8th grade girls that read the first one very much disagreed with me and loved it. I have enjoyed the second and third book more.

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  2. Dead Key Office sounds perfect for my 6th. graders. Great that you've begun your PD reading, too! Good for you!

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  3. I am glad that I found your blog via the It's Monday! What Are You Reading? meme. I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to reading more.

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  4. Ah, I loved SORTA LIKE A ROCKSTAR. I hope you love it too! I liked your thoughts on SCARLET because about half of my students felt that way. People seem to either love it a lot or have neutral thoughts about it. I haven't read it yet!

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    1. I had neutral thoughts about Cinder for sure...but they may have changed after reading Scarlet.

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