Monday, April 14, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/14



It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Books I Finished This Week:

I mostly listened to Where Things Come Back, but it was the first book I had the Kindle and the Audible book for.  It was really cool how the two versions synced.  At the end of the book, I switched to the Kindle edition, because I wanted to read the rest at a time that wouldn't have been a good time for listening.  I highly recommend this book to teens and adults. There are some deep themes in this one.  I like the way the author used humor to lighten up what could have been a very dark and depressing story.  

I highly recommend I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zusak as well.  It was a little slow going for me at the beginning, but then it picked up and I was intrigued by the mystery of what had to be done and who was behind everything.  There is a good message about the life we choose to lead and complacency.  

My sister gave me a copy of The Freedom Writers Diary for Christmas.  I have owned a copy of this book before and been meaning to get to it, so when my sister gave it to me again, I figured it was now the time to read it.  I enjoyed reading the book and thinking about what this teacher did for these students.  I found myself being a little cynical once I realized that the teacher only worked in the classroom for these four years.  I think this group of kids have done amazing things and the teacher has made a lot of difference by putting together workshops and teaching education classes at universities.  However, the work that she did and the sacrifices she made in order to reach those kids obviously were not sustainable or she would have continued her work at the high school.  I love reading about these kinds of things, but I realize that this level of success is hard to get without that level of sacrifice.  There are a lot of teachers out there that do similar things for students on a smaller scale every day.  I would recommend this book to teachers as inspiration to think about tolerance education.  I definitely am going to look for some of the resources that Erin Grunwell used.  

Books I am Currently Reading:

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey is quite interesting so far.  I am also listening to Emerald Green.

What's Next?

I am on Spring Break (FINALLY) and will find ample time for reading this week.  I am not sure what I will choose to pull from the shelf, but I am sure I will enjoy reading.  


What are you reading this week?  I would love to hear from you in the comments!  Have a great reading week!


7 comments:

  1. I love I am the Messenger! I can't wait to give it to my high school book club kids. I really should read Where Things Come Back some time. I hear such good things. Have a great spring break! ~ Megan
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  2. Where Things Come Back was still a little depressing to me even with the humor, but I appreciated the writing. I Am the Messenger grew on me as I read and I enjoyed it. Freedom Writers was inspirational for me too, but I wondered if what she was doing would be maintained. The Monstrumologist completely freaked me out. I am not a person who reads creepy books as a general rule. Yancey did an impressive job there. Have a great spring break filled with reading.

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  3. I've wanted to read Where Things Come Back! One of these days! I loved I am the Messenger. It was so different than The Book Thief - such amazing versatility! A children's/YA book seller recommended I buy Monstrumologist, so I did. I haven't gotten to it yet. I must! Have fun reading this week!

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  4. I enjoyed your comments on the books you read this week. I also finished I Am the Messenger and couldn't agree more--slow start for me as well but then it picked up and I couldn't wait for my daily commute so that I could listen to it. A big yes to what you say about Freedom Writers Diary and the sacrifices Erin made to be able to do that kind of work with her students. I wish I had known better at the beginning of my career as a high school teacher how to sustain myself and my work. I was burnt out at the end of five years! That's one thing I try to find ways to teach my pre-service teachers--longevity!

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  6. Too many typos! I never did get to Where Things Come Back, but you've renewed my interest, Andrea, and also Ask The Messenger. I like his books. I've read the Freedom Writer's Diary, & see what you mean about the sacrifice-it takes a lot of mind, heart and time! Hope your break is wonderful!

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  7. Hello there Andrea! I am sure you'd be able to do a lot of reading during the Spring Break. My 12 year old daughter had hers a few weeks back and we did finish quite a few titles. :) I loved Zusak's voice in The Book Thief which is why I am a little apprehensive to pick up my copy of Ask the Messenger, but I am sure I would get to this one within the year.

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