Students: It's Back to School Time!

If you are visiting for the first time, I welcome you! I finally added my Top 10 list on the right side of the blog. This is a changing list that I update once a year after I have had a summer of reading great young adult literature. I'll be blogging about each one of the Top 10 over the next few weeks so stay tuned. I have another HUGE list of books that used to be on my Top 10 or just missed the cut but are still fantastic reading. That list will be available soon.

Anyone read a good book lately? Leave a comment and tell me the title and author. I'm always looking for new books!

It's Here!

Today's the day! My advance purchase copy of Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers finally arrived from Amazon. Tonight will be a long night as I delve into the fascinating conclusion to this 4 book series. Truly an epic romance!

Book Sharing

Many of my loyal readers have indicated that they are interested in reading books that I have detailed on this blog. I am a reader who doesn't spend $ on books but rather uses the local library and the generosity of friends to feed my addiction. So... if there is a book that I have mentioned that you want to borrow, please let me know in the comment section and I will gladly loan it to you. Likewise, if you have a book you think I or my children might enjoy, please share with us.

*My secret dream: to be a librarian- because I would be surrounded by the smell, feeling, and sight of books every day!*

Off The Bookshelf

I picked up this book at a library discard table and it has become one of Lillian's favorites.

Some of my other posts have centered around books appropriate for girls only. This one might just fascinate boys more than girls. Check out these lines from the book:

"If one million kids climbed onto one another's shoulders, they would be taller than the tallest buildings, higher than the highest mountains, and farthur up than airplanes can fly. If you wanted to count from one to one million, it would take you about 23 days."

The book continues with billion and then trillion. At the end, the author gives a detailed description of how he came up with the measurements and numbers. I thought that part was fascinating!

What I've Been Reading

I've sadly neglected this blog but that probably won't change since school is on the horizon. I promise to make 1 post a week but the content will be predominately young adult literature since that has to do with my job. 8th graders need as much encouragement as possible!

On my vacation last week I read Stephanie Meyer's book The Host. It is not part of the Twilight series but is just as good. It is certainly a book written in the distant future but still with the hint of romance that Meyer does so well. 700 pgs. later, I moved on to a book that was on my "on deck" list from a previous post.

Road Trip Reading

On a long road trip this past weekend, I bypassed my "on deck" books and read a new young adult novel. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a funny, sad, and real story all in one. Check out this summary from the author's website:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. This heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written tale, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character’s art, is based on the author’s own experiences and chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he seems destined to live.

I have been hearing about this book for a while and kept seeing it on must-read book lists. I loved it! Trickled throughout the story are cartoons drawn by the main character, Junior.

Fancy Nancy

These are Lillian's favorite books! I think they're pretty cool, too. The illustrations are beautiful and it teaches mature vocabulary like ecstatic and ensemble. Lillian has been known to use iridescent in a sentence. Wow!