The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan

I found this book on my local Target shelf and almost lost my mind. The same reaction that my husbands middle school students had when he mentioned that a new Riordan book was out. Somehow this gem escaped the notice of many fans. A fact that Hyperion books should definitely be called out on the carpet for.

Riordan returns to a fast pace of action and teen confusion in this story with a twist. Focused this time on the gods perspective, readers get an insight into Apollo as he is turned into a mortal teenage boy...with acne. Riordan lets us into the thoughts and feelings of the Gods.

Riordan does an excellent job letting us see the pain of the Gods, why they would act arrogantly, and how time can feel differently when 70 years ago feels like only a year or two. He also gets us, and Apollo, thinking about how being a mortal can effect our ability to accomplish tasks with traits such as courage, perseverance, and hope.

Vanishing Act by John Feinstein

While I have never been a fan of sports, a fact that everyone who knows me can believe wholeheartedly, I found this book about the US Tennis Open great! I know nothing about tennis, yet the writing let me learn as I read, letting me into the world of sports while not leaving me completely in the dark. Which is where I typically reside.

This fun mystery is the second in a sports series staring a middle school boy who wants to grow up to be a sports reporter. While adults will need to suspend belief for the idea that two middle schoolers would be interested in print media, let alone know what a newspaper is, children will have no problem getting behind the young writers and their passions. Feinstein writes a great mystery with surprises, interesting characters, and great adventure. Boys and girls will have fun following the male protagonist in his investigation into a missing tennis player.

The Family Fang

This is an amazing book!! This book about a dysfunctional artistic family was a  funny, occasionally dark, and sometimes confusing adventure. This book is probably my favorite contemporary literature piece. There is no way that I can do it justice in a review so google it if you want; but I recommend just going ahead and reading it.

Huckleberry Finn

Yes Huckleberry Finn (one day I'll figure out how to get pictures of book covers on this blog, until then enjoy my attempt at trying to find appropriate non-copyright pictures!)

I figured I better go ahead and write on this book since it is a personal favorite. I have moved a number of times and just recently paired down my 3 copies of Huckleberry Finn to one. I love it that much!

While this has been considered a kids book in the past, it truly is a great work. Humorous and serious all at the same time, you can't beat this book for a literary experience. If you have never dipped your toe in to the writings of Mark Twain feel free to start with this one. Who can resist a book where a character finds moral fortitude with the sentiment "I'll go to hell."

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

I recently fell in love with Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein. These two fantastic books recently grabbed my attention and sounded like too much fun to pass up. These books are delightfuly fun reads that are kid friendly in language, pacing, and content. Adults will get a kick out of them as well. The references to childhood favorites, and ones you may have missed out on. Will pull you back into your local library for a children's book splurge.

Apps I can't live without

It's a scary year. NO NEW BOOKS! (at least not the hard copy kind). And I had to "get rid" of almost 1/2 my collection! So here are some apps that eased the pain. If you are going through a similar down sizing and money saving effort, I hope this works for you too.

• Goodreads-- This app allows you to rate and track the books that you have read. For readers who love collecting this might be a good substitute. You can start a digital collection rather than hold onto a physical one.
• Nook, iBooks, and Kindle- again, changing from a physical collection to a digital one. I was firmly opposed to digital books when they first came out. How could an electronic replace my treasured books? Then I had to move. The next year I also had to move. The year after that I made my third move. A low weight kindle, or now an app on my iphone, were much easier to move and keep up with.
• Overdrive-- I am lucky that my local library uses overdrive. This way I an check out books digitally and never have to worry about late fines
• Audible-- It allows me to listen to my favorite books while driving and exercising.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

 

It had barely been three weeks when I was tempted to break my New Year's Resolution to not buy any physical books (digital copies and digital audio don't take up shelf space so were exempt). I was waiting for my husband to catch up with me in a Sam's Club and found a book that I had just been reading about on a blog. The back cover made the book even more appealing and I could NOT imagine walking away without it. 

I did however resist temptation and looked the book up on my library app (Yay public libraries!). It was The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. This book went right along with my need to pair down my 3 bedroom to a 1 bedroom (well 1.5). I loved Kondo's approach to treating tidying as appreciating your belongings, being grateful for what you have, and viewing your items as what you want to keep.

Word of warning--when she says do it all in one day, If you read the follow up Spark Joy you'll discover that she most likely means do each stage in one day. Or, at least, I'm thinking of it this way to help avoid guilt of dragging out the process.

Book Fairs!!

A test of my resolve to spend a year not purchasing a physical book came at a school book fair. As a teacher, especially a English Language and Reading Arts teacher, how could I not buy books and support our book fair? So I came up with a brilliant plan. Pick out one book for the classroom and let the kids vote on one. A teacher's choice and a student choice. Great idea, right! This way I don't add to my personal collection at home and keep from adding too much to my classroom (more on this latter). I picked out a book by my favorite author and the kids chose Would You Rather. While their pick may not make great reading history, I am excited to see some interesting writing spring from our new classroom library addition!

A New Year's Resolution

I love beginning a project; challenging myself to achieve or complete something new. It's the reason why I classify Lent as a season. The chance to grow, to challenge myself in new ways and discover new aspects of myself is exciting and invigorating. And, yes, sometimes I get in over my head.

For the last two years I have been exploring with the idea of "less is more": Less clothing, less items, less calories. So this year, when I returned home from visiting my parents at Christmas and took a look around at my 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment that would need to be packed up and moved to a smaller 2 bedroom 1 bath, I decided it was time to downsize my belongings again.

I entered my 3rd bedroom and began to pack up the yarn, sewing projects, book, when I rediscovered that my large bookshelf was dying a slow death. It had been badly damaged by the last move and was wedged into the corner of the room to be held up by the wall. Any moving would result in it crumpling. Visions of having to cram all of my beloved books into a spouse shared office space with the two small bookshelves I had left set up a challenge I could not resist. It was time. I would cut down on the books I was keeping and not buy any new books in the new year!

This was brilliant. No new physical books. I have an audible account I already pay monthly on, a kindle account, a nook account, and two library overdrive accounts. Surely I can get everything I need digitally. And anything I really want I can get at the end of the year. Any book worth moving for an 8th time (yes, 8 moves in 9 years!) would still be on my shopping list next Christmas.

Two weeks into my project I discovered it was going to be much more difficult than I thought. I also realized that my challenge was similar to those others had take on with their 2016 resolutions. It involved  self-restraint (like dieting) and saving money (hopefully). So I decided to share the experience with anyone that cares to read on. Hopefully my story will encourage you to try new challenges, or at least a few new books.