It's Monday, What are you reading? March 26th









This is what I read this past week, which I link to the Teach Mentor Texts weekly post. Stop by and add to your "Must Read" list! 

Old and New  (this post is also a Newbery Update!)

I’ve completed another two Newbery Books as part of the Nerdbery Challenge. Huge thanks to Colby Sharp and John Schu for getting the challenge going!
This will also count as my “It’s Monday” post… I’ll just tack on a little bit on the end, since I didn’t get a lot read this week.

Waterless Mountain (1932) I enjoyed this story. I’ll state up front, I don’t know that much about Navajo culture. Yet I found that the stories embedded in this tale were intriguing, and made me want to learn more. So even if they weren’t accurate, I think that’s a win. I liked the family, and I enjoyed learning about this boy on his way to realizing his dream – becoming a Medicine Man. It was a quick read. Yes, there were numerous times when the narrator disrespected the culture of the “savages”. I didn’t pick up on it as much until a few Twitter conversations pointed things out. And I’m clearly in the minority in enjoying the stories built into this one. It’s hard, because I honestly believe that the author wanted to show this culture in a positive light, and I think that’s what I got out of it.

Dead End in Norvelt (2012)  - this was my very first audio book. I didn’t think I’d be able to pay attention to a book read aloud to me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I plan to pick up more audio books.
I have to say; I didn't like this book very much. From the constant nosebleeds, to the disjointed historical flashbacks, to the insane "mommy daddy" battles of Jack's parents that just made me angry - I just didn't dig it. I didn’t even really like the writing style; too many similes. How odd is it that they jumped out at me so severely?

I can see the appeal for some readers. The embedded history was interesting - it just didn't really feel like it flowed well for me. There was a lot of "boy humor". Okay, I DO like boy humor. I'm entertained by Captain Underpants, I like Lunch Lady... I just didn't really find this one very funny most of the time. I got a little bit interested as the mysterious deaths piled up, but not enough interested to really love the book.

I'll mark this one as a "not my taste" book and leave it at that.

Book Buddy Book:

Graceling.  Kathy (@thebrainlair) and I are reading and sharing our thoughts on this book.We completed the first portion this week (through the end of chapter 11). I’ll be updating my blog on Wednesdays with our discussion. (Code Name – Batty for Books, as we both love Batgirl)

Bedtime Read Alouds – Still working on The Lost Hero with my older son (he giggles along since he’s already read it several times, but he wants ME to read it) and Wind in the Door with my younger son. He really loves Charles Wallace. He got very upset that I couldn’t explain completely what is making CW ill in this book. 

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