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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin for our staff book club. It was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. It was told from the viewpoint of the daughter, husband, and son of a mother who disappears one day in Seoul, South Korea. It left my heart very heavy after reading it. I'm not sure I will soon forget it.

Phantom by Jo Nesbo, which was a much-wished for gift for Christmas. You can see my review of it to see just how much I love Jo Nesbo and his main character, Harry Hole.

This Week I'm Diving Into...

The only Conan Doyle Estate approved Sherlock Holmes mystery The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. I recently discovered the existence of this book, and it pairs two fabulous British men, Horowitz and Holmes, so I couldn't resist!

I also borrowed an ARC of Being Henry David by Cal Armistead, and I can't wait to get into that as well.

Professionally, I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins. I am also continuing to work my way through Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson.

Happy Reading!

Phantom by Jo Nesbo

 

Jo Nesbo's Phantom was overwhelming, confusing, and pretty raw. But when I closed the book at 1:00 in the morning after reading the final page, I was completely satisfied. I love reading about Nesbo's Harry Hole and the impossible situations he finds himself in (and eventually gets out of).

 

My literary love affair with Harry (the second Harry love of my life, after Mr. Potter) began with Nesbo's The Snowman. I heard about it on my favorite book podcast, Books on the Nightstand. It sounded so dark, twisted, and forbidden compared to my usual reading diet of YA and MG books. Summer was approaching and I was excited to branch out and read adult books for once. I read The Snowman on my honeymoon in, ironically, Cancun, Mexico. It was the gateway drug into Nesbo's other Harry Hole bestsellers (which couldn't be translated into English from the Norwegian fast enough for me!) The Leopard, Nemesis, The Devil's Star, and a non-Harry Hole book, Headhunters. Jo Nesbo is a gifted twisted ending writer. I love the gritty life Harry leads and appreciate the fact that he is the ultimate anti-hero that you hate to love (Harry's exes feel the same way.) Since The Snowman was his first US hit, with his earlier Hole novels translated out of order, my perfectionism aches to reread them in order to follow the overall story line, but since my TBR piles are teetering precariously around me as I type this, we all know that will never happen. I'll have to be satisfied with a little imperfectionism, which I've gotten used to in my relationship with Harry.

 

Although the novels can be read out of order, I definitely recommend starting with The Snowman to see Nesbo at his finest.

 

 



Jo Nesbo is also a musician, songwriter, and
 economist and lives in Oslo (from book jacket).

 

Thirst Day 1/3/13

 

 

 

 

I am all about excuses for blogging. I came across Thirst Day on Twitter from a great librarian to follow, @LibraryFanatic. Thirst Day is a meme started by Dave Etkin over at Eat the Book. He's got all kinds of fun stuff over there!

 

 

Today's book and a drink are Jo Nesbo's Phantom and some hot Zinger tea to ward off an impending cold.

 

Happy Reading!

Waiting on Wednesday - Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz 1/2/13

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you highlight one book that you can't wait to hit the bookshelves!

I can't wait for the finale to the Power of Five series, called Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz! It hits shelves on April 1, 2013!

Anthony Horowitz is a master. I first fell in love with him when he came to town to talk to my students. He was engaging, hilarious, and, best of all, British. As if writing edge-of-your-seat stories wasn't enough, he kept my students on the edge of their seats talking about the writing process. It was magical.

At first glance, it looked like Oblivion was already out, so I was all ready to select another WoW book. However, after researching, it seems that it was released in October in the UK, and you can get copies on Amazon, but the official US release isn't until April 1st.

The Power of Five series tells the story of the 5 Gatekeepers, young teens marked for being protectors. Each Gatekeeper gets their own book (except the twins in book 3), and in this final chapter, all five come together to save the world. The books take readers all over the world, and writing the books took Anthony Horowitz all over the world. Here is a video showing the lengths Anthony Horowitz went to in researching the setting of Oblivion.

Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/26/12

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. I heard about it from the Teach Mentor Texts blog, which puts a "Picture Books to YA" twist on it. I like to post my MG/YA, adult, and professional reads here!

Last Week I Dived Into...
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. My teacher-book club picked this and we discussed it over sushi (ocean-themed meal?) last Sunday. It's not one that I would have normally picked up, but what a powerful first novel about choices. Every one of us that finished it cried in the final pages. I know I was overwhelmed with emotion over the pain that the characters faced because of their choices. If you are in need of a good, deep-down-in-your-guts cry, this will do the trick! 

This Week I'm Diving Into...

(still...) Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. I'm only reading this at school during our "Dive In" time, so I'm not making great progress. I did pick up the sequel Dust and Decay at our school's book fair, so I better pick up the pace!

This summer I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, like every other woman in America, and promptly read her earlier work, Dark Places. I immediately picked up Sharp Objects as well, but only got to it this weekend after finishing my book club selections. So far, it's just as dark as her other books, and since my sister and coworker just finished it, I'm looking to carve out (eek, no pun intended) some time this week to finish it! There are moments in this book that literally make my stomach turn.

Professionally, I am reading Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins. I've read the first chapter, and if it's possible, I am entertained by a book about teaching standards! I am also continuing to work my way through Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson. This is quickly becoming my go-to reference book. Fabulous.

Happy Reading!