What I Read: July

When we went to visit my parents for the 4th of July, we left the kids when we returned home so they could hang out for a week while I worked on setting up my classroom. I got so much work done and spent close to 8 hours a day in my classroom while they were gone. I listened to audiobooks almost the whole time while I was working and I listened to them on the drive so I made it through quite a few audiobooks while they were gone.

Books:

• Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech- I read this with the kids. It started off really good for the first half, but then got a bit boring and slow. It took us a long time to read it because we lost interest in it. We all agreed it was pretty meh.

• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones- At the beginning of the book, I really struggled with the section in the pastor's voice and didn't understand why he was in the story. I just wanted to stay with Good Stab and hear his story. In true Stephen Graham Jones fashion, how central he was to the story was revealed slowly and precisely. His imagining of vampires was so interesting. His take on all kinds of monsters fascinates me. I can't think of words to describe the ending that do it justice, I'll just have to say I loved it. I mostly read the book, but also listened to sections on audiobook and highly recommend doing it as an audiobook. The narrators did an amazing job!

• Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan- I really enjoyed this story. Monaghan writes such sweet stories while also making you giggle at times. I finished this book and felt like I'd been wrapped in a warm hug. In this story the mom finds herself struggling with being a good role model for her daughter because she has quietly accepted other people treating her poorly. I really related to that because a driving force in finding a new job was that I wanted to be a strong role model for Elise and show her it is important to value your worth. I didn't want her to see me accepting treatment that I wouldn't want her to accept herself. Seeing that reflected in story was validating. I'm so excited to catch up on all Monaghan books I haven't read. Is there anything better than finding an author you love and then realizing they have a slew of other books for you to work your way through?

• Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning by Peter Liljedahl- This was an amazing and informative book. I have always struggled with our math curriculums and how prescriptive they are. I'm always tweaking and adjusting them to get my students to think more and just mindlessly copy procedures less. This book was everything I've been yearning for and had so many details that just make sense. I can't wait to implement this in my classroom. And, of course, I loved how much he referenced data!

• These Walls: The Battle for Rikers Island and the Future of America's Jails by Eva Fedderly- When this book was described as being about the architecture of jails, I wasn't very interested, but it turned out to be so much more. Something I loved about this book was that she didn't just point out problems with the justice system, she shared possible solutions. One line that really struck me was, "You can't build jails and then think that these kids won't fill them... If you build it, they will come."

eBooks:

• The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-Rice- I was expecting a sweet book about best friends opening a bookshop together and that was not what this was. There was so much drama and so many surprising twists. With 4 main characters and each facing huge obstacles, there was never a dull moment. I ended up enjoying the book more than I expected to when I started it.

• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar- I was so excited for this book. When it came in at the library, I was shocked to see how short it was. I was expecting a book and it was a novella. That's my only complaint, I wish it was longer! It was a beautiful fairy tale about the love of sisters and I wanted more!

• Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney- This book was a super slow starter. The first chapter was really good and then it lost its momentum. She was building to a big finish, but I struggled through the first half of the book. Then once I hit halfway, I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed going back at the end of the book and figuring out the clue, that was such a fun touch.

• Yellowface by R.F. Kuang- Reading this book was like watching a slow motion disaster that you just can't look away from. Junie's story was sickening and hard to read, but I was immediately reeled in and couldn't stop.

Audiobooks:

• The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea- The ending of the book, my goodness! The whole book was one unexpected turn after the other. I loved that Donlea kept me guessing and the female heroines weren't just incredible, but also very believable.

• Pines by Blake Crouch- This book started out boring and frustrating, but ended with such a shock, I'm excited to read the next book in the trilogy.

• The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan- I got this audiobook on sale from Libro.fm. I was bummed when I started it and realized there were drawings to go with each section. That was on me, but I wished I'd read it as an ebook so I could have enjoyed them. 

• The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings by Sy Montgomery- This was a sweet story of rescued baby hummingbirds. It was originally a chapter in a book, so a short quick read.

• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo- I love Acevedo. My only complaint with this story was that it wasn't long enough. She did such a great job of letting us see both perspectives of the sisters who didn't know their dad had two families.

• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller- I loved this retelling of Achilles' story. It was an interesting point of view.

• The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera- I liked that Silvera tackled such a complex issue with suicide and suicidal ideation. He really gave it the time you needed to see how it can be a cycle that the person continues to struggle with even after surviving, but it just kept going and going and Paz's character, in particular, was a bit difficult to like at times. I was getting tired of the book and then he threw in a huge curveball at the end!

• Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose- This book was very cute. I enjoyed following Pom as she evolved as a person while working to solve the mystery of who murdered her grandma. The mystery was somewhat overshadowed by her romantic interest and the changes she underwent throughout the book. I would classify it as more of a rom com than a mystery, but the mystery part of the story was also engaging and interesting.

• The Robin on the Oak Throne by K.A. Linde- I loved the fantasy element of this book and what she's done with "monsters". It felt to me like since romantasy has gotten so popular, she threw in some unnecessary sex scenes that had no purpose other than to detract from the story.

• Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour- This book started off so good and I loved the narrative style of it. I don't know if it was reading it so closely behind Yellowface that made the downward spiral of the second half so difficult for me to listen to or if it would have been tough regardless. Following a main character as they completely lose themselves and their morals is really hard for me and made me enjoy this book much less overall.