So I've Been Doing a Little Reading...

My last post about books was at the end of April, and I have read an abundance of books since then.  I started an account on Goodreads, which I love, because it helps me keep track of what I've read and makes recommendations for other things I might like.  If you love to read, check out Goodreads...the more books you rate, the more (and better) recommendations it makes for you!  Here's a rundown of what has come & gone on my bookshelf and Kindle over the last few weeks.

I'll start with some of the YA novels I've read recently.  I am trying to read as many as I can get my hands on, so I can make recommendations to my students about what they might or might not like.  My very favorite that I've read so far:  Divergent, by Veronica Roth.  I'm starting with that, because I just got book 2 in the series Insurgent from the library today.  I can't wait to start it.  Divergent is the story of Tris Prior, who is part of a society where everyone is set apart into 5 factions:  Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the truthful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  Tris grew up an Abnegation, but at age 16, you take a test to see which faction you best fit into.  You then make the choice to stay with your faction, or join another.  When Tris takes her test, it turns out she is divergent - she could fit into more than one.  Her tester warns her not to let anyone know she is divergent, because it's dangerous to their society.  Tris doesn't really understand why, but has to make a choice.  Once she does, she discovers a plot that could threaten her whole society and has to figure out a way to stop it.  It is non-stop action, and of course, Tris meets a boy and romance ensues, as well.  It is fast-paced and just oh-so-good.  I could not put it down & I can't wait to pick up book 2 later tonight!

In April, I told you about Lauren Oliver, who wrote Delirium and Pandemonium, both of which I loved.  She had one other novel that she wrote first called Before I Fall, so I decided to check it out.  This story follows Samantha, who dies in a car accident, but then proceeds to live the last day of her life over 7 times...until she gets it right.  I don't think I would recommend this book to a middle schooler, but I really liked it myself.  It was an intriguing storyline and I enjoyed seeing Samantha grow from a person I really didn't like at the beginning to someone I did like at the end.




Next up...the Heist series by Ally Carter.  The first book Heist Society, follows Kat Bishop, a thief born and raised in a family of thieves.  She has to pull off her biggest heist yet to save her father.  It was a really fun read.  I just finished the second book, Uncommon Criminals, a couple days ago.  Again, we follow Kat Bishop, who is no longer your everyday thief.  She now steals to return art lost or stolen during the Holocaust to their rightful owners.  When a woman approaches her to steal a famous emerald that was stolen for her family, Kat wants to do the right thing.  Unfortunately, it turns out to the be the wrong thing and Kat has to find a way to make it right again.  These are quick fun reads...written for teens, but I gotta tell you, enjoyable for anyone!

I also read I'd Tell You I Love You, But then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter.  This is the first in a series about a girls school that trains them to be...spies!  I love the premise.  It follows Cammie, who is a legacy.  Her mom is a former spy and the current headmaster of the school, and her dad (also a spy) was killed in action a few years before.  In the book, Cammie has to grapple with whether becoming is a spy is right for her, because she'd really just like to be normal sometimes.  This was also a really fun read.  I'm definitely planning to read the rest of the books in the series.



I also read Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater.  This one was not really up my alley, but a several of my students read it, so I thought I'd try it out and see what I thought.  The story follows Grace and Sam.  Grace was attacked by wolves as a young girl, but one of those wolves ended up saving her life.  She continued to see her wolf from time to time as she grew up, only to discover that her wolf is actually a werewolf (which is why this book is not up my alley - I've never been able to bring myself to read the Twilight series for the same reason).  Anyhoo, the werewolf is Sam...he is a wolf when it is cold, but when the weather turns warm, he is able to become human again.  However, it is Sam's last time as a human...he's reached the point where once he turns back into a wolf, he'll be a wolf forever, so they have to try to figure out a "cure" to keep him human.  My biggest problem with this book for middle school kids is that the characters have sex...and I'm just not completely comfortable with that with a middle school crowd.  I liked the story better than I thought I would, but for me, it is definitely not a middle school book.

Last in the young adult category...The Selection, by Kiera Cass.  The book takes place 300 years in the future.  The United States was defeated by China in a third world war, and what was once North America is now the country of Ilea, which is ruled by a monarchy.  Whenever there is a prince who comes of age, all girls in each province of a certain age who apply, are placed into a lottery in order to compete for the prince's hand in marriage.  America Singer doesn't want to be part of the selection, she is already in love...but with a boy who is from a lower caste than hers.  He encourages her to apply, so she does, and SURPRISE, she is one of the 35 chosen to go to the capital, live in the palace, and have her life broadcast on national television.  Kind of a futuristic reality show.  She goes, because it will provide much-needed money for her family, and get her away from the boy who broke her heart.  Now...she develops feelings for the prince...but the story ends before the selection is made.  Darn the cliffhanger!  I will definitely be looking for book 2 when it comes out!

Okay...so actual adult novels.  I do read those too.  However, I am really finding that a lot of the young adult fiction out there is every bit as good as what is out there for adults...sometimes better!

First up, my friend Rachel has a reading blog and recommended How to be an American Housewife, by Margaret Dilloway.  I just finished this one today and I loved it.  The story is told from the perspective of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American soldier after WWII and her daughter, Suiko (Sue).  Shoko came to America and wanted to be the best American wife she could be, but her upbringing and culture often play a huge role in who she is as a wife and a mother.  She and her daughter Sue work throughout the novel to come to a place of understanding and closer relationship.  It was a really heartwarming book based on the author's own Japanese-American mother.  I would definitely recommend this one!

Next up, two Nora Roberts' books.  First, The Witness...a story of a genius woman who was witness to a double murder by the Russian mafia at the age of 16.  She has developed a new identity and is living in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  The local chief of police meets her and is intrigued by her eccentricities and true love ensues.  Of course, they also have to bring down the Russian Mafia, who is still after her for all these years.  I loved the main characters in this story - Elizabeth/Abigail was so quirky because she was so incredibly intelligent, yet very literal-minded.  The laid-back chief of police, Brooks, is a great match for her.  Their romance was sweet and funny.  Definitely, a good fun, yet mysterious read!  Also by Ms. Roberts, The Last Boyfriend, book #2 in the Inn Boonsboro series.  In book number one, the first of 3 brothers fell in love and in this one, it is brother #2's turn.  Owen, the middle brother is organized and keeps the family's construction business running like clockwork.  Avery, owner of the local pizzeria is an old friend.  Owen happens to be Avery's first boyfriend...and eventually becomes her...you guessed it, last boyfriend.  Again, a short, fun romance.  The characters are likable and fun to read about.  It would be a great poolside read!

My first book I read poolside on vacation was Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble.  In this book, Lizzie is heading to London to join her boyfriend Andrew.  However, she really only met Andrew briefly before he headed home...and it has been 3 months since she's seen him.  But...it is going to be an adventure!  Unfortunately, for Lizzie, things don't turn out quite as she'd hoped and she ends up joining her friend Shari in France for the summer...and meets a handsome stranger on the way...who ends up being her host.  It's a funny, laugh-out-loud, total chick-lit kind of book.  A great summer beach read.

Another fun, easy read is The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick.  Linnie and Amy are sisters who haven't spoken to one another in quite some time.  Linnie needs money and Amy needs a break from the chaos of being a mom of 2-year old twins.  Their grandmother decides it's time they fixed the problem in their relationship and tricks them into joining a national bake-off competition as partners.  They learn to bake from their grandmother and find a way back into each other's hearts again.  This was an entertaining and heartwarming story.




I've actually read some non-fiction too.  First up, I read Anna Quindlen's memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. I really have liked her novels, so I thought I'd try this.  It was just okay for me.  She had some interesting and funny stories about her life, but I found that I couldn't really relate to her on some things.  But...if you like memoirs, then I think you'd probably enjoy this one.






I also read Heaven is For Real, by Todd Burpo.  I had heard of the book, but didn't really think much of it until one of my students asked me if I had read it.  Now...he asked me this probably back in November and I just now got to it.  It was a really fascinating story of how the author's son revealed to his parents a visit to heaven when he was deathly ill in the hospital.  The author, a pastor, shares his son's story and the fact that many of his son's experiences line up with what is in scripture.  It is a fascinating story and I would highly recommend it.  Now...hopefully, I run into my student sometime in the near future so I can tell him I read it. :)

Finally, I will close with one of the audio-books Brandon and I listened to on our way home from Phoenix this year.  A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron follows a dog through several reincarnations.  First as Toby, whose mother is wild.  Then as Bailey, a young boy's dog as he grows up.  Next as Ellie, a search and rescue dog, and finally, as Buddy...who finally learns what his real purpose in all those lives was.  This was a great audio-book.  I wasn't sure at first, but it turned into a great story that was really funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming.  We were excited to see that there is a sequel A Dog's Journey that I think we'll be listening to on our next long road trip!  I would definitely recommend A Dog's Purpose as either an audio-book or to read yourself!

So...there you have it.  I have read some others too...but frankly, these are my favorites of what I've read in the last 2 months, and this post is probably quite long enough!  Especially for someone who has not been a regular blogger lately...

Happy reading!

AZ 2012

About a week after school was out, Brandon and I packed up the kids and sent them to Grandmas and headed out to Phoenix for our annual relax-fest.  Things were a little dicey this year as to whether we'd end up going or not.  At some point in the middle of May, I did something to hurt my lower back.  At first, it wasn't that bad and I kept up my normal routine, which probably wasn't the best idea, because after about a week, I woke up one morning and almost couldn't walk.  So...I stopped my normal exercise and tried to take it as easy as possible at work, and began visiting my chiropractor more regularly, and it got somewhat better.  Until the day after the last day of school.  I think I just spent too much time running around, and though I tried not to do any heavy lifting, I was packing boxes and toting things around like crazy, so the day after school was out, I was in major, major pain.  So...more visits to the chiropractor, lots of ice, and lots of time flat on my back (spent reading, which was the only enjoyable thing about it!) got me to the point where I felt like I could make the long car trip.  I was feeling pretty good by the Wednesday before we left.  I was finally able to do a little cleaning around my house and pack, though, again, there was a lot of time spent on ice and flat on my back in between.  I armed myself with a lumbar support pillow for the car ride, and we set off!

We did a 16 hour day (with many more breaks than normal) and drove to Blanding, UT on the first day.  We drove through Colorado with a mission - find a rest stop we stopped at many years ago along the Colorado River.  There are multiple rest stops through the Glenwood Canyon, but this particular one was right along the water - so close you could take off your shoes & step into the water if you wanted to.  For the last several years, we have stopped at the rest areas that we thought were the one, and have one-by-one eliminated them.  We stopped at what we finally thought was going to be the one, only to discover that we were wrong once again!  Brandon declared that he would stop at every rest stop through the canyon until we found it.  Lucky for us, it was the next one...the "Grizzly Creek" Rest Area if you're ever driving through.  Here are some pictures from our stop there:

We stopped in Grand Junction, CO at a favorite restaurant of ours, W.W. Peppers.  Anytime we go through Grand Junction, we eat there.  It's a local place - serves Mexican, but also steak & seafood.  When we got there, we were seated in the same booth we sat at 2 years ago (the last time we were able to eat there).  Then...we got waited on by the same waitress as 2 years ago.  She was so nice, she was very memorable...but it turns out we must be memorable too.  After she'd been by our table a couple times, she stopped again and said, "I've waited on you before, haven't I?  And didn't you sit at this same booth?"  Talk about a good memory.  We had a great visit with her...and promised to request her again next time we're there.  Her name is Holly...I've written it down so we won't forget.  

Finally, the first day, we took our favorite drive along Hwy 128 in Utah also along the Colorado River.  The grandeur of this drive is just awe-inspiring.  Here we are along the way.

We finally made it to Blanding around 8:40 local time  - after leaving at 5:40 a.m. home time, we were pretty beat!  

We set out a little later on our second day - thank goodness!  It only took us about another 5 & 1/2 hours to get to Phoenix, so it was an easy day in the car.  Our resort let us check in early, so we enjoyed the afternoon poolside.  And the rest of our trip was pretty much this:  wake up early, take a walk, eat breakfast, take a nap, eat lunch, lay by the pool all afternoon, clean up & go to dinner.  So, very relaxing.  My back was hurting quite a bit the first few days after the car trip, so I think Brandon did get a little bored with me.  I wasn't up for much.  By Wednesday, I felt good enough to go hiking with him, so we set out to Pinnacle Peak, which is a just gorgeous hike in the area.  We met a little friend along the way:

Can you see him?  I added arrows to help.  We think it was a rattle snake.  Ugh.  Shiver.  Luckily, he was heading off-trail, so we only saw him from the back. :)  Here is Brandon along the way & after we finished.

My one assignment from Luke was to take pictures of cactus, so once I remembered to bring my camera along with me, I took pictures of as many varieties as I could find.  Who doesn't enjoy a good cactus picture now and then?

It's amazing how tall these paddle-like cactuses (cacti?) can get!

These cactus trees are really cool looking.

I loved the birds on top of this one!

I wasn't often up early enough to see the flowers blooming on top  -  I caught a few here.

We left for home last Friday way early in the morning - 3:14 a.m. Phoenix time (that is 5:14 am here in MO, which doesn't sound good, but sounds a lot better!).  When we come home, we take the short way (short is a relative term) and the GPS predicts it to be a little more than 18 hours to get home.  Last year we did it in 17 hours, 29 minutes.  This year, we were on track to do just that...until we got to the great state of Missouri.  Once we cross the bridge into Missouri, it's less than 10 minutes to home...unless you see that the left to lanes of the Interstate you are traveling on have been closed & traffic is backed up over the bridge into Kansas...at 10:40 p.m., mind you!  We sat looking at the "Welcome to Missouri" sign for I don't even know how long.  After going about a mile in 40 minutes, we finally see the reason for the hold-up...a sobriety checkpoint.  What's unique about this sobriety checkpoint is that THEY WEREN'T ACTUALLY STOPPING ANYONE!  There were about a million (really probably somewhere between 50-75) Sheriff's Deputies & Highway Patrolmen waving everyone through.  Really?  Thanks, Missouri.  And we couldn't wait to get back here?  Brandon said we would never speak of it again, he was so mad...so I really hope he doesn't read my blog.  I have come to a place of sort of finding it funny...you know, one of those funny stories you tell about that one trip?  We finally reached home at a little after 11:30 and crashed.  It was a fun trip, but it is so true...there's no place like home!

Adios, 1st Grade!

Luke had an amazing year in 1st grade and he was very sad for it to come to an end.  He learned so much over the course of the year.  He's become an awesome reader and loves Junie B. Jones and Flat Stanley books.  We just found a new series this week that he's enjoying - Jack Russell - Dog Detective.  His writing skills have only continued to improve and he wows me with the math he can do in his head!  The first grade had a short celebration of the year with a few awards thrown in.  We were so proud of Luke for receiving awards for reading, math, & being a good library patron (boy after my own heart!).  The whole thing only lasted about 20 minutes at most, but it was a fun way to say goodbye to first grade and start thinking about moving up to a whole new world in 2nd grade.  Luke's school is arranged in "pods" - Kindergarten & 1st share a pod, 2nd & 3rd share one, and so on.  He's pretty excited to move on to a whole new world out of the K-1 pod.  I don't even know where the 2-3 pod is...I guess he'll have to show me.  Here are some pics from his award day.

Standing up with the other kids who received the same award.

Brandon and Luke

I love how happy he is to be in this picture with me!

We will miss Mrs. Smith terribly next year.  She was such an awesome 1st grade teacher.  We should only be so lucky to get someone as wonderful as her for 2nd grade!