It's Monday! What Are You Reading? July 13

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.

I was feeling better this week but not 100% so the week was perfect for lounging around the house reading and writing.  I had a very good reading week, with many thought-provoking books and much introspection.  

Books I Finished This Week: 

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin is the second book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series.  It is set in medieval times, when the protagonist, who is a woman, must hide the fact that she has been medically trained.  Seeing her solve crimes or perform autopsies will cause the average person in her world to call her a witch.  I quite enjoyed this installment and plan to read the third book soon.

Raging Star is the third book in the Blood Red Road trilogy.  I love this trilogy and really enjoyed the stories.  I was not happy with the events in this book, but I can understand the need for the story to take that path.  I still would recommend the trilogy but I am not loving the end.  In fact, I was close to throwing the book across the room which I guess shows how emotionally invested I was in the story.

I LOVED this book.  I don't even have words for it.  You just need to read this book.

Because of the elephant on the cover, I thought this book was about an elephant.  Silly me! I did enjoy the graphic story about Buster Keaton and a small summer getaway for vaudevillians called Bluffton.  I thought the use of muted colors in this graphic novel was very smart and I am really interested in reading more by Matt Phelan.

Professional Books Finished:

I was really happy when I saw this title was on the digital campus.  I have been wanting to read it for a couple years now.  Overall, this book was another one that affirmed the practice of reading workshop and encouraging kids to read.  I like the concept of reading ladders and have been doing something similar for years.  The book did make me think a lot about how there are different ways that books can be more complex.  Definitely recommended reading for teachers of reading.

This book would be a good book to give a new teacher or one who has not really delved into the possibilities of being connected.  I felt like I already knew a lot of what this author was saying and that I already do a lot of what she was recommending that we do. I would definitely recommend it for newer teachers though.

Comprehension Connections is a must-read for teachers who are teaching reading workshop. I absolutely love all the ideas for lessons to make the abstract a little more concrete for students.  I read this book online and will be ordering a hard copy because there are so many great ideas that I want this one on my shelf and at my fingertips for reading workshop.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am reading The Literacy Teacher's Playbook and Crafting Digital Writing for my professional reading this week.  I also am reading The Old Man and The Sea and Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore.  I am listening to The Clockwork Princess.

What's Next?
I will probably pick up El Asedio by Arturo Perez-Reverte to continue my Spanish reading.  I am not sure what else I will pick up, but I need to get to some more middle grade titles so that will be a priority.

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