Here is a not very well focused picture of all the books I took out
of the BHS library for the summer. The top shelf are things that are new
purchases that I want to take a look at either for summer reading next
year or for my own interests. The bottom shelf are selections from the
Barnico Collection which is a large collection of books, mostly
technology and history based, donated by a Beverly family in honor of
their parents. What a nice gesture!
My reading in June
and July (as of the fourth) has been far more impressive than earlier in
the year. I only read 2 books in March! That is shocking! Well, I did
some rereads, but I don't count those unless I haven't read the book in
over 5 years and I have to read the whole thing.
I
started out with NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL by Siobahn Vivian and UNTIL
YOU'RE MINE by Samantha Hayes. NTKOG is a YA romance with a prickly
heroine who doesn't have a realistic picture of her own best interests.
It was mostly something I read while waiting for stuff to happen.
UNTIL
YOU'RE MINE is a British mystery about pregnancy and babies and murder
and while I was intrigued with the mystery and figured it out at the
last minute, it never really came alive for me.
JELLICOE
ROAD!! JELLICOE ROAD!! (by Melina Marchetta) I just loved this. Kate
from the Beverly Public Library has been talking about this since it
came out and won the Printz. I assigned it to my students in the YA
course I am teaching this summer, so I had to finally read it. It is
just magnificent. I had given up on it a couple times because it is so
twisty and doesn't make sense until you are well into it, but oh is the
confusion worth it! Students at a boarding school in Australia are in a
war with townies and military school cadets and it all harkens back to a
group of kids from 20 years earlier who met in tragic circumstances. I
LOVED it!
BECAUSE I SAID SO is one of the summer
reading books that I really should have finished earlier. Ken Jennings,
former Jeopardy champ and all-round hilarious guy, breaks down the old
wives tales we have always believed to be true. Or not. I just finished
the last third that I never got around to. And it was a hoot!
DEAD
END IN NORVELT by Jack Gantos was another one that I assigned to my
class so that I would finish it. I love Jack Gantos. I stalked him at
MSLA a couple years ago. He is such a compelling speaker. I had read A
HOLE IN MY LIFE which I found fascinating. But I just couldn't get off
the ground in Norvelt. It was an interesting story about a town that was
established by Eleanor Roosevelt and a bizarre family (Jack, his
tightly-wound Mom and his jack-ass Dad) who live there. The one
character I loved was Miss Volker, the elderly medical examiner who also
writes lyrical obituaries for the deceased. She is a great character.
DEAR
LUKE, WE NEED TO TALK, DARTH by John Moe was such a cute idea.
Background sketches from famous pop-cultural characters. I read it
quick, because there was no other way to do it. Funny, but ultimately
not that great.
OPEN ROAD SUMMER, I am going to have to do a full post on this one.
CINDERELLA
by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti was just
beautiful! It is the story we all know and love, but illustrated as if
it happened during the roaring twenties. It is one of the picture books
that the Dohertys donated. Just lovely.
CHEAP SHOT by
Ace Atkins is the newest Spencer novels created by Robert B. Parker. I
am usually not a fan of dead writers continuing to publish, but Atkins
is doing a terrific job of keeping Spencer viable. It still feels
Boston-y, Spencer, Hawk and Susan retain the characteristics that make
them so appealing - except Susan's bizarre eating issues. The mystery
centers around a New England Patriot whose son is abducted. The mystery
is twisty and the payoff excellent, as always.
Finally,
I read UNFRIENDED by Rachel Vail and IN REAL LIFE by Cory Doctorow,
illustrated by Jen Wang. They are both ARCs that I reviewed for VOYA
with my
beloved goddaughter and I can't really talk about them until the reviews are published. But suffice to say that I enjoyed them both.
So
that's June. All I have read in July are grown-up books, shockingly
although it is 9 am on the fourth and i have read 4 books. So, dang, I
am reading a lot!
